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David Bixler
Alto saxophonist and composer David Bixler has recently embarked on an artistic reemergence with the release of two new recordings; In the Face of Chaos (2019) with Bixler, Boccato, Cowherd, and Sturm, and Blended Lineage (2020) with the Bixtet. A traumatic brain injury suffered by his youngest son necessitated a shift in Bixler’s priorities during the last decade—a period in which his family devoted much of its energy to the care of its youngest member. Because of this new lens, Bixler’s creative approach to composition, performance, and recording is repurposed and evident in his most recent output.
For the recording In the Face of Chaos, Bixler has assembled a band that understands the message of resilience and hope despite the odds that this music was intended to convey. Pianist Jon Cowherd, bassist Ike Sturm and percussionist Rogerio Boccato are sensitive interpreters of Bixler’s music. Their combined effort produces music that is challenging for the listener without being afraid to embrace beauty.
Blended Lineage, a four-movement work for nine musicians includes trumpeter Mike Rodriguez, pianist Jon Cowherd, bassist Luke Sellick, percussionist Fabio Rojas, and a string quartet comprised of violinists Judith Ingolfsson, Heather Martin Bixler, violist Josh Kail, and cellist Rubin Kodheli. This piece is the product of a commission to address the concept of modern-day tribes. Because the word “tribe” can appear divisive, Bixler framed the concept from the point of view that we all have groups or tribes to which we belong. The exercise of identifying these tribes is the first step in breaking down the barriers that separate them and finding where they intersect. In his piece, Bixler identifies four tribes of which he is a member: the human race, a Wisconsinite, a musician, and those who recognize the spiritual as a reality of life, and the music serves as a reflection of each of these four groups. The first piece, Origins is written for the beauty and diversity that exists through all of humanity. Motherland is an homage to his native Wisconsin. Trenches is dedicated to the musicians in NYC who choose musical rewards over monetary ones. My Soul Swoons Softly, the final piece, takes its title from James Joyce’s, The Dead, and is a reflection on the Divine existence beyond what can be seen and touched.
Bixler is the host of Liner Notes with David Bixler, a new podcast centered on conversations with jazz musicians as well as serving as Director of Jazz Studies at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. As both a Selmer and Vandoren Artist he is active as a clinician and performer throughout the world.
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David Bixler: Inside the Grief
by Mike Jurkovic
Following his 2019 nonet offering, Blended Lineage (Red Piano), alto-saxophonist David Bixler, no stranger to the stress and strains of our collectively jagged, irregular days, sets out heroically to make sense of it all on Inside the Grief. And make sense of it all he does with six probing, conversational originals that manage to restore some balance of life and light into many of today's darkest recesses. Stripping it all down to a trio format, Bixler, bassist Gregg August and ...
read moreDavid Bixler: In The Face Of Chaos
by Dan Bilawsky
In The Face Of Chaos marks a re-emergence, if not a complete artistic rebirth, for David Bixler. It serves as a true inspiration, drawing beauty from pain, and peace from personal struggle. Life took an unexpected turn for the saxophonist's family when his youngest son suffered a traumatic brain injury a number of years ago. With that, logically, came a need to re-evaluate priorities. So, Bixler took a step back and did what any loving parent would do; ...
read moreDavid Bixler: The Nearest Exit May Be Inside Your Head
by Dan Bilawsky
Saxophonist David Bixler's ties to pianist Arturo O'Farrill have had positive and negative consequences. The positives are a raised profile, a fairly steady gig for twelve years and counting, and the opportunity to paint atop brilliantly arranged Latin platforms of varying shapes, colors and sizes for audiences around the world. So, one might wonder, what could possibly be negative about this connection, and the answer comes with one simple word: pigeonholing. This saxophonist isn't bound to a ...
read moreTake Five With David Bixler
by AAJ Staff
Meet David Bixler: Alto saxophonist, composer, and educator David Bixler has been steadily garnering attention for his unique playing and writing. Since moving to New York City from his native Wisconsin, David has performed and toured with the orchestras of Lionel Hampton, Toshiko Akiyoshi, and Duke Ellington. In 2000 he joined the Chico O'Farrill Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra which was the beginning of several musical collaborations with GRAMMY award winning pianist Arturo O'Farrill. In 2008 ...
read moreDavid Bixler and Arturo O'Farrill: The Auction Project
by Bruce Lindsay
Altoist and composer David Bixler leads The Auction Project, with Grammy-winning pianist Arturo O'Farrill, who has described this album as being very much about colliding cultures." This may slightly overstate things but the album does represent what is, for jazz, a rather unusual meeting of cultures. Half of The Auction Project is devoted to Bixler's compositions, while the other half features tunes from the folk canon of the British Isles--the island of Ireland in particular. The key ...
read moreDavid Bixler and Arturo O'Farrill: The Auction Project
by C. Michael Bailey
Stylistically, The Auction Project is slightly out-of-focus. It is ostensibly the meeting of Arturo O'Farrill's Irish-Latin roots at the corner of David Bixler and Heather Martin Bixler. However, there is much to endorse the music made here, not the least of which is the presence of the two Chico O'Farrill big band alumni. Bixler's Heptagonesque" is the successful culmination of this Hispano-Celtic experiment, with its curious Middle Eastern flavor. Is it the curry? No, it's the violin. ...
read moreTake Five With David Bixler
by AAJ Staff
Meet David Bixler: Alto saxophonist David Bixler has been active on the New York jazz scene for the last ten years. As lead alto with the Chico O'Farrill Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, he has toured the US, Europe, and Central America in addition to performing each Sunday evening at Birdland in New York City. His third release as leader, Call It A Good Deal, was released July 2006 on Zoho Music and received 3 1/2 stars in Down Beat. Increasingly active ...
read moreSupport the LINER NOTES indiegogo fundraising campaign
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All About Jazz
As LINER NOTES enters its fourth season in July, I am making an appeal for funding in order to keep it going. I ask you to click here to watch a short video explaining the situation and the motivation for this appeal. I am passionate about LINER NOTES, a podcast that I started in 2018. It features unstructured conversations with some of this era’s most influential creative improvising musicians. The show has recently lost one of its major sources ...
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David Bixler and Arturo O'Farrill - The Auction Project (2010)
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Something Else!
By Mark Saleski Over the years, there have been a lot of musical hybrids that have surprised our ears by revealing hidden commonalities in melded musical genres. For instance, I'm fairly certain that my only exposure to hip-hop back before the mid-1980's was with Sugar Hill's Rapper's Delight," and Blondie's Rapture." The idea of Run-D.M.C. teaming up with Aerosmith was probably met with a blank stare and naughty thoughts about Debbie Harry. But then that cover of Walk This Way" ...
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David Bixler "Other Things" Concert: March 26th, 2007 at St Peter's Church (NYC)
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Two for the Show Media
Saxophonist, Composer, and Bandleader David Bixler will be performing his Other Things" program at New York's St. Peters Church on Monday, March 26th, 2007 at 6PM. The program includes Music for Saxophone Quartet, String Quartet, Big Band, and general ensemble. Heather Bixler - Violin Janice Martin - Violin Maxine Neuman - Cello Todd Bashore - Alto sax Peter Brainin - Tenor sax Marc Phaneuf - Tenor sax Dan Block - ...
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Primary Instrument
Saxophone
Location
New York City
Willing to teach
Advanced only
Credentials/Background
Professor of Jazz at Bowling Green State University