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Gregory Agid

Clarinetist Gregory Agid was born in San Antonio, Texas and grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii. He got his first clarinet at the age of seven—and when his family moved to New Orleans five years later, Agid discovered jazz.

After attending Louis Armstrong Jazz Camp, where he learned from legendary musicians Alvin Batiste, Kidd Jordan, and Clyde Kerr, Agid was accepted to the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA). Here, Batiste became his mentor. “Alvin Batiste once told me that the clarinet is also like a jealous mistress, and the moment you don't give her the attention she wants, she becomes spiteful and unruly,” Agid remembers.

Agid’s NOCCA classmates included Grammy-nominated trombonist and trumpet player Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, Grammy-nominated trumpet player Christian Scott, and pianist Jonathan Batiste. In 2005, NOCCA awarded Agid a grant to study with clarinetist Eddie Daniels at Daniels’ home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

While earning his bachelor’s degree in clarinet performance from Loyola University New Orleans, Agid dove into performing. In addition to playing alongside Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra, the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, and Kristina Morales, he leads the Gregory Agid Quartet and performs regularly in the New Orleans area, Nationally, and Internationally.

Agid graduated from Loyola University New Orleans in 2010, and released his debut album, Mystery Blues, in 2013. The following year, he completed his master’s degree in music at the University of New Orleans. Agid’s sophomore record, Words Are Not Enough, will be released Winter 2016.

Awards

ASCAP Louis Armstrong Scholarship


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Album Review

Delfeayo Marsalis Uptown Jazz Orchestra: Jazz Party

Read "Jazz Party" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


This album was recorded in 2019 but its message of unabashed joy is welcome these days for obvious reasons. The people responsible for it are Delfeayo Marsalis and Uptown Jazz Orchestra. The music is steeped in the various musical traditions of Marsalis' native New Orleans but brings in a few outside influences to enhance the fun. All sorts of Big Easy sounds are touched on here. “Blackbird Special," a tune originally by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, intensifies ...

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One might define Gregory Agid’s music as joyous, celebratory, blues-inflected, gutbucket, intense, impassioned, or cerebral. Yes, the music is all of that and much more. As is the case with all matters of the heart and soul, words are not enough to fully describe the beauty within.

-Delfeayo Marsalis

It not only shows that the clarinet, which has long been closely associated with traditional New Orleans jazz and swing, can be showcased in a fresh and modern context, but that Gregory Agid is one of the up-and-coming young giants of his instrument.

-Scott Yanow

Agid, on clarinet, was especially impressive. He unleashed birdcalls and blues, stretching phrases over bar lines before snapping back into the pocket. When he stood side-by-side with Lee, playing unison passages and free counterpoint, this modern band reminded one that group improvisation has been a signature skill for New Orleans players for more than a century.

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Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Delfeayo Marsalis and...

Troubadour Jass Records
2020

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Raid on the Mingus House Party

From: Delfeayo Marsalis and the...
By Gregory Agid

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