Home » Jazz Musicians » Sam Dillon

Sam Dillon

Sam Dillon is a saxophonist, woodwind player, composer and teacher based in New York. In 2013 Sam was selected as a semifinalist in the Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition. As a semifinalist, Sam performed at The Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. for Wayne Shorter, Jimmy Heath, Branford Marsalis, Bobby Watson and Jane Ira Bloom. Most notably, Sam has performed at Carnegie Hall, Jazz @ Lincolin Center, Symphony Space, Smoke Jazz Club, The Iridium, Yoshi's Jazz Club, Smalls Jazz Club, The 55 Bar, The Zinc Bar, The Kitano Hotel, Cornelia Street Cafe and live on WBGO 88.3 FM. In 2009 Sam received his Masters in Jazz Performance from SUNY Purchase College.

Sam made his discovery of Jazz at age 9 and began studying saxophone shortly thereafter. He played his first gig when he was 14 years old with legendary trombonist Al Grey and never looked back. As well as leading his own groups, Sam has had the honor of performing with The Joe Chambers “Moving Pictures” Jazz Orchestra, The Smoke Big Band, The Artie Shaw Jazz Orchestra, The Cecilia Coleman Big Band and The Paris Wight Quintet featuring David Weiss. In addition, Sam is currently composing and arranging music for his first CD. He has gained great knowledge and experience by learning, performing and/or recording with some of the worlds finest musicians including Roger Humphries, Jimmy Cobb, Randy Brecker, John Riley, Bob Mintzer, Ralph Lalama, Ray Vega, David Hazeltine, John Fedchock, Jim Snidero, and Eric Alexander.

Sam has also been teaching music for over 8 years. His private teaching studio includes students of all ages and levels on saxophone, clarinet and flute. Sam’s students cover all areas of study from classical repertoire to jazz improvising. Sam has also conducted several instrumental master classes and workshops for schools and summer programs including The North Shore High School Jazz Band and Combo, The Great Neck North High School Band and Orchestra and The Oyster Bay High School Jazz Band. In addition, Sam has been a woodwind teacher for The All Island Music Center for the past three years. Previously he has taught for The Tarrytown Music Works Program, The Hackley School Music Conservatory, The Laconia Music Center, Catalano’s Music Center and Hey Joe Guitar. Sam was also part of the 2011 Vandoren sponsored “generation artists” program.

Sam has appeared on television several times with Vince Giordano and The Nighthawks. He was on HBO two times in Martin Scorsese’s T.V. Series “Boardwalk Empire” playing clarinet, and most recently for USA in “Royal Pains” playing saxophone. Additionally, Sam recorded at Bennett Studios with the Dan Jameson Big Band featuring John Riley, and also recorded and performed with The Ted Piltzecker Group featuring Harvie S., Rogerio Boccato, and Jerad Lippi. The newly released CD “Ted Piltzecker & Company” can be purchased on ITunes. Sam was a finalist in the first Generations Jazz Competition held at Yoshi’s Club in San Francisco. He has played live on WBGO Jazz 88.3 FM with the Purchase Jazz Endeavor three times. In 2008 Ray Vega included Sam in an “all star youth” group that performed at the Cape May Jazz Festival.

Read more

Tags

4
Album Review

Vanessa Racci: Jazzy Italian

Read "Jazzy Italian" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci


Vanessa Racci describes herself a jazz / cabaret singer of Italian-American descent with a passion for retro jazz and music made famous by Italian Americans. She has a previous album, entitled Italiana Fresca (2017, self-produced), and currently performs several shows that celebrate American jazz composers, Italian American music and contributions to jazz and pop in the US. She is a competent and entertaining singer, lively, and, by the video evidence, vivacious. She may not exactly lead a listener to forget ...

1
Album Review

Michael Davis - Hip-Bone Big Band: Open City

Read "Open City" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


Michael Davis is an accomplished trombonist who has had a long career of live and studio work accompanying a varied roster of big-name jazz and rock talents such as The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bob Mintzer, Buddy Rich, Paul Simon, and Sarah Vaughan. He is also an established solo artist and composer who leads an imposing large ensemble, the Hip-Bone Big Band. The big band's second album is an exuberant affair which reflects the joy of getting back ...

14
Liner Notes

Joe Chambers: Moving Pictures Orchestra: Live at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola

Read "Joe Chambers: Moving Pictures Orchestra: Live at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola" reviewed by John Kelman


It's one thing to have an established `place in the jazz pantheon, another to continue redefining that position, long after others might be content to rest on their laurels. Joe Chambers' work behind the drum kit with artists including Andrew Hill, Bobby Hutcherson, Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, Charles Mingus, and McCoy Tyner has already ensured a prominent place in jazz history. His output as a leader may be small, but he's delivered two outstanding Savant recordings in 2006's The Outlaw ...

9
Album Review

Steven Feifke Big Band: Kinetic

Read "Kinetic" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Jazz connoisseurs who lean toward big bands that swing as earnestly and often as the renowned architects of the epic big-band era should find plenty to cheer about on Kinetic, the debut recording by New York-based pianist, composer and arranger Steven Feifke's audacious and fiery ensemble. This is a band that fires on all cylinders—but it couldn't even leave the garage unless Feifke supplied the fuel. With one exception (noted below), Feifke's intense and high-powered charts neatly pave the way, ...

1
Album Review

Steven Feifke Big Band: Kinetic

Read "Kinetic" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Assimilare la tradizione per poi creare cose originali. È questo il percorso che hanno seguito e continuano a seguire i musicisti jazz, in forme e approfondimenti diversi. A 30 anni esatti il pianista Steven Feifke è ancora al primo passo ma in questo scintillante debutto orchestrale dimostra di avere tutte le carte in regola per sviluppare percorsi originali. Kinetic è infatti un esempio del miglior modern mainstream orchestrale, elaborato sulle lezioni di Thad Jones e Mel Lewis, ...

7
Album Review

Frank Basile / Sam Dillon Quintet: 2 Part Solution

Read "2 Part Solution" reviewed by Jack Bowers


If recent albums serve as an accurate guidepost, hard bop is making a broad and most welcome comeback. In the wake of high-octane albums by Adam Shulman, Gary Dudzienski, Cory Weeds (who doubles as producer-in-chief at Cellar Records), Marshal Herridge, the TNEK Jazz Quintet, Jerry Bergonzi, Keith Oxman, John Sneider and others comes 2 Part Solution, an old-school fire-breathing session whose front line consists of tenor saxophonist Sam Dillon and baritone saxophonist Frank Basile. Any doubts about ...

5
Album Review

Frank Basile: 2 Part Solution

Read "2 Part Solution" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


One might have expected there would be a plethora of baritone sax / tenor sax recordings following the standout 1959 Verve release Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster. Not so, although the two principals were involved in a follow-up album in 1960 for HiFi Jazz entitled Jimmy Witherspoon With Mulligan and Webster at The Renaissance. The Frank Basile / Sam Dillon Quintet recording 2 Part Solution is a bit of a throwback to this earlier period, but is unlikely to be ...

Read more articles

Photos

Concerts

Jun 2 Sun

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Open City

Self Produced
2023

buy

Grass Machine

Grassmannmusic ©
2022

buy

Jazzy Italian

Zoho Music
2022

buy

Kinetic

Outside in Music
2021

buy

Solid Moments

Posi-Tone Records
2020

buy

Truth

Outside in Music
2020

buy

Videos

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.