Ep 093 - Lauren Sevian; Grammy award winning baritone saxophonist

Grammy award winning baritone saxophonist Lauren Sevian is one of the most in demand musicians on the scene today. 

She is the Winner of the “Rising Star” Baritone Saxophonist in the 67th Downbeat Critics Poll and  Winner of the Hothouse Jazz Awards Baritone Saxophone 2019.

Ms. Sevian came to NYC in 1997 to attend the Manhattan School of Music, and soon thereafter began touring with groups such as Diva and the Artie Shaw Orchestra. 

She can be seen performing as a bandleader around the NYC area with her quartet, the LSQ, or LSAT, her quintet co-led with alto saxophonist Alexa Tarantino, which recently won first place in the “Made in NY” jazz competition. 

She is also co-director of the all female collective “Lioness™️’”. 

As a side woman, she can be heard regularly with the Mingus Big Band, and has performed with countless other groups, notably the Dizzy Gillespie all star big band, Christian McBride’s Big Band, Robin Eubanks Big Band, and the legendary Count Basie Orchestra. 

Her debut album “Blueprint” was released on saxophonist Greg Osby’s label Inner Circle Music to critical acclaim, winning a SESAC jazz award for national performance activity, and receiving rave reviews in publications such as Downbeat, Cadence, and All About Jazz. 

Her sophomore album, “Bliss”, was released spring 2018 on Posi-tone Records, and features all stars of the jazz scene, Alexa Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Christian McBride, and E.J. Strickland. 

Her versatility as a musician has led her to a variety of playing situations, working with the likes of actor Denis Leary, with Maurice Hines in the theater production of “Tappin Thru Life”, and with Harry Connick Jr. in his broadway show “A Celebration of Cole Porter”. 

She is a frequent guest artist at many universities, high schools, middle schools, and jazz festivals across the country. As an educator, she has been teaching privately for over 15 years. 

She is on the jazz saxophone faculty at the Manhattan School of Music, Jazz at Lincoln Center as the director of the “Young Women’s Jazz Orchestra”, instructor for the middle school jazz academy, Summer Jazz Academy at Bard College, and Jazz House Kids Summer Jazz Workshop. 

She has adjudicated at many jazz competitions & festivals, notably the Essentially Ellington Competition at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Monterey Jazz Festivals’ “Next Generation Jazz Festival”, the Victoria Music Festival in Melbourne, Australia, and the Eau Claire Jazz Festival at the University of Wisconsin in Eau Claire. Ms. Sevian endorses Buffet-Crampon saxophones, D’addario Woodwinds, RPC mouthpieces, Key Leaves, Robinson’s Remedies, and BG France accessories.

The link to her full biography, along with more Resources for this episode, is on our website.

In this episode, we talked about:

• Lauren’s “Strong Island”/Long Island connection with Donna
• The solos she transcribed that were most influential
• Having a confident mindset
• Her tips for increasing your breath support
• How to approach performing as a duo
• How Greg Osby inspired her to record
• Her early years in the NY Jazz scene
• Her playing partnership with Alexa Tarantino 
• How the Lioness Collective started
• Being a woman in Jazz today
• and a whole lot more!

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