Gary Smulyan

Gary Smulyan, born in 1956 in Bethpage, New York, is a baritone saxophonist who became one of the central voices on the instrument in jazz after Pepper Adams. He started on alto saxophone on Long Island and sat in with players like Chet Baker and Lee Konitz while still young, then joined Woody Herman's Young Thundering Herd in 1978 and made the baritone his primary horn. After settling in New York in the early 1980s, he held the baritone chair in the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra and its successor the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and worked with the Mingus Big Band, the Dave Holland Octet and Big Band, and the Joe Lovano Nonet. His playing is marked by an aggressive rhythmic drive and a strong harmonic sense rooted in the bebop tradition. He has recorded extensively as a leader, including Tadd's All, Folks (2022) and Boss Baritones (2024), and has topped the DownBeat Critics and Readers polls on baritone saxophone.