Doug Hirlinger

Doug Hirlinger is a drummer, vibraphonist, electronic musician, and composer raised in St. Louis and living in Philadelphia. He has toured throughout the United States and Europe and performed in such venues as Blue Note (NY), Birdland, The Iridium, and 55 Bar. He attended the University of North Texas and graduated from Manhattan School of Music. Over the last 28 years Doug has been fortunate to have played with many world renowned musicians. The list includes: Peter Bernstein, Stanley Jordan, Seamus Blake, Ralph Bowen, Joel Frahm, Rudresh Mahanathapa, Matt Mitchell, Jason Moran, Luis Perdomo, Jacob Sacks, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, The Philadelphia Orchestra and many more. Upon moving to Philadelphia the first of two times in 2001, Doug spent much of his time at the famed and beloved Ortlieb’s Jazzhaus where he worked with pianist Sid Simmons and others. A trio he co-led with Matt Michell and Tarus Mateen was a crowd favorite there as was Neil Podgurski’s New Fire, of which he was a member.

In 2018, three years after returning to Philadelphia for a second time, Doug completed an artist residency at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts resulting in a 10-piece suite titled, Dear Philadelphia, exploring gentrification, inequality, and musical legacy in Philadelphia with collaborators Ursula Rucker, M’Balia Singley, Tim Motzer, and John Swana. In the summer of 2022 Doug was commissioned by Philadelphia Jazz Project, along with his wife and vocalist, Keisha Hutchins Hirlinger, to compose “Water Speaks” originally part of the exhibit “POOL: A Social History of Segregation” at Philadelphia Water Works. The group features Doug on vibraphone and Madison Rast on bass and continues to book performances.

During the pandemic shut down Doug began playing the vibraphone for the first time since his high school years. A new vibraphone quartet debuted at Cheltenham Art Center in Philadelphia in the spring of 2023 featuring Andrew Urbina on alto saxophone, Chris Coyle on bass, and Chad Taylor on drums.

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