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Baritone saxophonist
Gary Smulyan is an adept improviser with a big, warm sound and lithe, swinging style in the
Pepper Adams tradition. Born in Bethpage, New York in 1956,
Smulyan first started out on the alto saxophone as a teenager and gained early experience sitting in with such luminaries as saxophonist
Lee Konitz, trumpeter
Chet Baker, violinist
Ray Nance, and others. After high school, he honed his skills studying at SUNY-Potsdam and Hofstra University before getting a call to join
Woody Herman's Big Band playing the baritone sax chair. With no experience on the bari,
Smulyan quickly purchased an instrument and hit the road. For much of the late '70s, he toured with
Herman's band, playing alongside such luminaries as saxophonist
Joe Lovano, bassist
Marc Johnson, and drummer
John Riley. Although he initially thought of himself as a die-hard altoist, during his years with
Herman he developed a distinct sound on the baritone, and by the early '80s it had become his primary instrument.
Moving to New York City in 1981,
Smulyan quickly established himself as a reliable sideman, playing regularly with such ensembles as
the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra,
the Mingus Big Band, and the
Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra; associations that eventually led to his long-running membership in
the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. He has also played with a bevy of highly regarded solo performers including
Dizzy Gillespie,
Freddie Hubbard,
Stan Getz,
Chick Corea,
Ray Charles,
Tito Puente,
B.B. King, and many more. Along with performing,
Smulyan is a gifted educator -- a faculty member of Amherst College and the artistic director at the Berkshire Hills Music Academy in South Hadley, Massachusetts
As a leader,
Smulyan made his debut in 1991 with
The Lure of Beauty on Criss Cross, featuring pianist
Mulgrew Miller and trombonist
Jimmy Knepper. Another Criss Cross date,
Homage, also appeared that year and featured pianist
Tommy Flanagan. More well-received Criss Cross albums followed including 1993's
Saxophone Mosaic with saxophonist
Dick Oatts, 1996's
With Strings, and 2000's
Blue Suite, which showcased his brass ensemble featuring trumpeters
Scott Wendholt and
Greg Gisbert, French horn player
John Clark, tubist
Bob Stewart, and trombonist
John Mosca. Also in 2000, he joined longtime associate
Joe Lovano for
52nd Street Themes on Blue Note.
In 2003,
Smulyan led the hard-swinging quintet date
Real Deal with trumpeter
Joe Magnarelli and pianist
Mike LeDonne.
Hidden Treasures, with bassist
Christian McBride, followed in 2006. Three years later, he paid tribute to late vocalist
Frankie Laine on
High Noon: The Jazz Soul of Frankie Laine. He then paired again with
LeDonne (this time on Hammond B-3), and guitarist
Peter Bernstein for the soulful Smul's Paradise in 2012. The Italian-themed Bella Napoli with Sopranos-actor/singer
Dominic Chianese appeared the following year. In 2017,
Smulyan released the concert album
Royalty at le Duc, which showcased his quartet live at Le Duc des Lombards in Paris. ~ Matt Collar