Episode #54: Irwin Hall

Irwin Hall got his start at the age of 9 when he won a lottery in school and was gifted an alto saxophone. By the age of 11, he was on stage performing professionally and began winning state and national competitions. Irwin attended Princeton University on a full ride to study East Asian philosophy. He learned Japanese and after graduating began work at a major Japanese newspaper in Tokyo. As fate would have it, he ran into songstress Melody Gardot backstage at the Tokyo Jazz Festival who heard him play and immediately hired him to tour with her band. He quit his job and went on back-to-back international tours as her featured soloist. Soon after he caught the ear of 3x Grammy/Tony Award winning NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater and joined her working band, honing his skills under the master vocalist on saxophone, flute, and bass clarinet. His woodwind work is featured on the two Grammy-nominated albums: Star People Nation by trumpeter Theo Croker and Currency of Man by Melody Gardot. He has toured extensively with Grammy-nominated vocalist Jazzmeia Horn and bass virtuoso Charnett Moffett, among many others. Irwin now leads his own band - Irwin Hall Organ Trio (#IHOT) - and continues to perform in cities around the world. In this episode, Irwin shares his background, education, and musical journey.

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