James J. Snidero (born May 29, 1958 in

Redwood City, California Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a ...

, United States) is an American jazz saxophonist.

Performance career

Snidero grew up in the Washington DC area (Camp Springs, MD), then attended the U of North Texas and performed in the One O'clock Lab band. He moved to New York City in 1981 and recorded and toured with

Jack McDuff Eugene McDuff (September 17, 1926 – January 23, 2001), known professionally as "Brother" Jack McDuff or "Captain" Jack McDuff, was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader who was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz era ...

from 1981 to 1982, then joined

Toshiko Akiyoshi is a Japanese–American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. Akiyoshi received fourteen Grammy Award nominations and was the first woman to win Best Arranger and Composer awards in ''Down Beat'' magazine's annual Readers' Poll. ...

Jazz Orchestra A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

in 1983 after Akiyoshi move to New York. Snidero was a working member of

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

's band from 1991 to 1995 including the album "Duets II" and

Eddie Palmieri Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936) is an American Grammy Award-winning pianist, bandleader, musician, and composer of Puerto Rican ancestry. He is the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive. Early life Pal ...

's band beginning 1994. Snidero also has performed with the

Frank Wess Frank Wellington Wess (January 4, 1922 – October 30, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. In addition to his extensive solo work, Wess is remembered for his time in Count Basie's band from the early 1950s into the 1960s. Critic ...

Sextet (1985), the

Mingus Big Band The Mingus Big Band is a 14-piece ensemble, based in New York City, that specializes in the compositions of Charles Mingus. It was managed by his widow, Sue Mingus, along with the Mingus Orchestra and Mingus Dynasty. In addition to its weekly Monda ...

from 1996 to 2000, and Walt Weiskopf from 1994 to 2003. He has worked as a sideman for

David Hazeltine David Perry Hazeltine (born October 27, 1958) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and educator. Early life Hazeltine was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on October 27, 1958. He began studying the piano at the age of nine, and first pe ...

, David Murray,

Mike LeDonne Michael Arthur LeDonne (born October 26, 1956) is a jazz pianist and organist known for post-bop and hard bop. He has worked with Benny Golson since 1996 and performs under his own name all over the world. Early life LeDonne was born in Bridgepo ...

Joe Magnarelli Joseph Anthony Magnarelli (born January 19, 1960) is an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist. Early life and education Magnarelli was born in Syracuse, New York. He received a bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Fr ...

Maria Schneider Maria Schneider may refer to: * Maria Schneider (politician) (born 1923), East German politician * Maria Schneider (actress) (1952–2011), French actress * Maria Schneider (musician) Maria Lynn Schneider (born November 27, 1960) is an Americ ...

Mel Lewis Melvin Sokoloff (May 10, 1929 – February 2, 1990), known professionally as Mel Lewis, was an American jazz drummer, session musician, professor, and author. He received fourteen Grammy Award nominations. Biography Early years Lewis was ...

Jim Rotondi James Robert Rotondi (born 28 August 1962) is an American jazz trumpeter, composer, arranger, educator, and conductor. The youngest of five siblings, Rotondi was born in Butte, Montana. He played in New York City for twenty years before moving ...

, Brian Lynch, Conrad Herwig, and

Tom Varner Tom Varner (born June 17, 1957 in Morristown, New Jersey, United States) is an American jazz horn (French horn) player and composer. Varner grew up in Millburn, New Jersey, and studied piano in his youth with Capitola Dickerson of Summit, Ne ...

. In 1984 he formed his own quintet and recorded and performed with sidemen that includes trumpeters Brian Lynch,

Tom Harrell Tom Harrell (born June 16, 1946) is an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer, and arranger. Voted Trumpeter of the Year of 2018 by ''Jazz Journalists Association'', Harrell has won awards and grants throughout his career, including mul ...

(from 1989 to 1992), and Tim Hagans (from 1992 to 1995); the pianists Benny Green (from 1987 to 1991), and

Mulgrew Miller Mulgrew Miller (August 13, 1955 – May 29, 2013) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. As a child he played in churches and was influenced on piano by Ramsey Lewis and then Oscar Peterson. Aspects of their styles remained in ...

(in 1991); the double bass players

Peter Washington Peter Washington (born in Los Angeles on August 28, 1964) is a jazz double bassist. He played with the Westchester Community Symphony at the age of 14. Later he played electric bass in rock bands. He attended the University of California, Berke ...

and

Dennis Irwin __NOTOC__ Dennis Irwin (November 28, 1951 in Birmingham, Alabama - March 10, 2008) was an American jazz double bassist. He toured and recorded with John Scofield and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra among others, and played on over 500 albums. Bio ...

; and the drummers

Billy Hart Billy Hart (born November 29, 1940) is an American jazz drummer and educator. He is known internationally for his work with Herbie Hancock's "Mwandishi" band in the early 1970s, as well with Shirley Horn, Stan Getz, and Quest, among others. Bi ...

(from 1984 to 1986, and again in 1989),

Louis Hayes Louis Hayes (born May 31, 1937) is an American jazz drummer and band leader. He was with McCoy Tyner's trio for more than three years. Since 1989 he has led his own band, and together with Vincent Herring formed the Cannonball Legacy Band. He i ...

(in 1990), Gene Jackson (in 1993), and

Adam Nussbaum Adam Nussbaum (born November 29, 1955) is an American jazz drummer. Early life Nussbaum was born in New York City on November 29, 1955. He grew up in Norwalk, Connecticut, and first played the drums at the age of four. After five years of piano ...

(from 1996). From 2001 to 2004, he recorded for Milestone Records, including composing and arranging for a string ensemble. In 2007, Snidero was signed with the Highnote/Savant label, and has recorded over ten leader dates with sidemen that include Dave Douglas, Orrin Evans, Jeremy Pelt, Linda May Han Oh, Andy LaVerne, Paul Bollenback, Rudy Royston, Peter Washington and Joe Farnsworth. His "Live at the Deer Head" recording received 5 stars in Downbeat Magazine. Snidero was awarded two National Endowment for the Arts grants, including one recording with

Dave Holland David “Dave” Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years. His extensive discography r ...

and

Jack Dejohnette Jack DeJohnette (born August 9, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. Known for his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, John Abercrombie, ...

(1987), and has placed in both Downbeat Magazine's critics and readers polls. Snidero performs frequently in the US, Europe, Japan and toured Australia in 2002.Vittorio Lo Conte, ''Jim Snidero,''

Cadence Magazine ''Cadence: The Independent Journal of Creative Improvised Music'' is a quarterly review of jazz, blues and improvised music. The magazine covers a range of styles, from early jazz and blues to the avant-garde. Critic and historian Bob Rusch fo ...

, xxvi/7 (2000), pg. 5

Educator career

Snidero is an adjunct instructor at the Jazz and Contemporary Music Program at the

New School University The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

and was a visiting professor at Indiana University and Princeton University. He has written five series of jazz etude books (60 in total editions) keyed to play-along CDs. He also has produced courses in jazz improvisation and performance for The Jazz Conception Company. * Jazz Conception: 21 solo etudes for jazz phrasing, interpretation and improvisation (1996) * Easy Jazz Conception: 15 solo etudes for jazz phrasing, interpretation and improvisation (1999) * Intermediate Jazz Conception: 15 solo etudes for jazz phrasing, interpretation and improvisation (2003) * Jazz Improvisation-Part 1: 21 video lesson, 18 play alongs, digital book, mobile app (2012) * Jazz Saxophone-Part 1: 10 video lessons, 8 play alongs, digital book, mobile app (2013) * The Essence of the Blues: 10 etudes for playing and improvising on the blues (2018) * The Essence of Bebop: 10 etudes for playing and improvising in the style of bebop (2020)

Higher education

Snidero studied at the

University of North Texas College of Music The University of North Texas College of Music, based in Denton, is a comprehensive music school among the largest enrollment of any music institution accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. It developed the first jazz studies ...

before moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1981. *SUNY Empire State, BA 2002

Discography

As leader

* ''On Time'' (

Toshiba EMI , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. Whe ...

, 1984) * ''Mixed Bag'' ( Criss Cross, 1987) * ''Live'' (

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

, 1989) * ''Time Out'' (Red, 1989) * ''Blue Afternoon'' (Criss Cross, 1989) * ''Storm Rising'' (

Ken Music Ken Music was a jazz record label based in Japan that distributed CDs in Japan, Germany, North America, and Great Britain. The company was founded by Kenichi (Ken) Fujiwara in 1989 as a subsidiary of Matsuka USA, which, among other things, manufac ...

, 1990) * ''Urban Tales'' ( Square Discs, 1991) * ''While You Were Here'' (Red, 1991) * ''Vertigo'' (Criss Cross, 1996) * ''San Juan'' (Red, 1992) * ''Standards Plus'' (

Double-Time In popular music, half-time is a type of meter and tempo that alters the rhythmic feel by essentially ''doubling the tempo resolution'' or metric division/level in comparison to common-time. Thus, two measures of approximate a single measure o ...

, 1997) * ''The Music of Joe Henderson'' (Double-Time, 1999) * ''Strings'' (

Milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...

, 2002) * ''Close Up'' (Milestone, 2004) * ''

Tippin' ''Tippin' '' is an album by saxophonist Jim Snidero which was recorded in 2007 and released on the Savant label.Savant Savant syndrome () is a rare condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrates certain abilities far in excess of average. The skills that savants excel at are generally related to memory. This may include rapid calcu ...

, 2007) * ''Crossfire'' (Savant, 2009) * ''Interface'' (Savant, 2011) * ''Stream of Consciousness'' (Savant, 2013) * ''Main Street'' (Savant, 2015) * ''MD66'' (Savant, 2016) * ''Jubilation! Celebrating Cannonball Adderley'' (Savant, 2018) * ''Waves of Calm'' (Savant, 2019) * ''Project-K'' (Savant, 2020) * ''Live at the Deer Head Inn'' (Savant, 2021) * ''Strings'' eissued and remastered(Savant, 2021)

As sideman

One O'Clock Lab Band One O'Clock Lab Band is an ensemble of the Jazz Studies division at the University of North Texas College of Music in Denton, Texas. Since the 1970s, the band's albums have received seven Grammy Award nominations, including two for ''Lab 2009''. ...

: ''Lab '80'' (1980) * One O'Clock Lab Band: ''Lab '81'' (1981) *

Brother Jack McDuff Eugene McDuff (September 17, 1926 – January 23, 2001), known professionally as "Brother" Jack McDuff or "Captain" Jack McDuff, was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader who was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz er ...

: ''Having A Good Time'' (1981–1982) * Brother Jack McDuff: ''Lift Every Voice & Sing'' (1984) *

Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra Toshiko is a feminine Japanese given name. Possible writings *敏子 "agile/clever, child" *俊子 "genius, child" *淑子 "graceful/polite, child" *寿子 "longevity, child" *年子 "year/age, child" *歳子 "age/time, child" *稔子 "humble, ch ...

: ''

Ten Gallon Shuffle ''Ten Gallon Shuffle'' is the first recording released by the New York-based Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra featuring Lew Tabackin (following 13 previous releases by the Los Angeles-based Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band). The compo ...

'' (1984) *

, '' Jazz French Horn'' (

Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

, 1985) * Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra: ''

Wishing Peace ''Wishing Peace'' is the second recording released by the New York-based Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra featuring Lew Tabackin after 13 previous releases with their Los Angeles-based Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band. "Lady Libert ...

'' (1986) * Brian Lynch Sextet: ''Peer Pressure'' (1986) * Conrad Herwig: ''With Every Breath'' (1987) * Brian Lynch: ''In Process'' (1991) *

Greg Hatza Greg Hatza is an American jazz organist born in 1948 in Reading, Pennsylvania. Music Hatza started on piano at age five, and switched to organ at age fifteen. He played professionally from age sixteen, working for four years at Lenny Moore's clu ...

: ''The Greg Hatza Organization'' (1993) *

: ''Duets 2'' (1994) *

Frank Sinatra Jr Francis Wayne Sinatra Group note. (; January 10, 1944 – March 16, 2016), professionally known as Frank Sinatra Jr., was an American singer, songwriter, and conductor. He was the son of singer and actor Frank Sinatra and his first wife, Nancy ...

: ''As I Remember It'' (1996) * Walt Weiskopf Nonet: ''Song for My Mother'' (1995) * Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra: ''

Four Seasons of Morita Village ''Four Seasons of Morita Village'' is the fifth album recorded by the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra featuring Lew Tabackin. It was released in 1996 and won the Swing Journal Silver Disk Award for that year.jazzcd.jp: 1996 Swing Journal (Jap ...

'' (1996) * Toshiko Akiyoshi: '' Time Stream: Toshiko Plays Toshiko'' (1996) * Joe Magnarelli: ''Always There'' (1997) * Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra featuring

Lew Tabackin Lewis Barry Tabackin (born March 26, 1940) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and flutist. He is married to pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi with whom he has co-led large ensembles since the 1970s. Biography Tabackin started learning flute at age 1 ...

: '' Monopoly Game'' (1998) * Walt Weiskopf Nonet: ''Siren'' (1999) * Joe Magnarelli: ''Mr. Mags'' (2000) *

: ''Good-Hearted People'' (2001) *

: ''Bags' Groove - A Tribute to Milt Jackson'' (2001) * Calogero Marrali: ''Homage to Jackie McLean'' (2001) * Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra: '' Last Live in Blue Note Tokyo'' (2004) * Sean A. Lane: ''Crying Sky Blue'' (2007) * ''SteepleChase Jam Session, Vol. 29'' (2010) * ''To Phil, With Love'' (2016) * Finefones Sax Quartet: ''Sonority'' (2019) * Brian Lynch: ''The Omni-American Book Club'' (2019) * Mike LeDonne: ''It's All Your Fault'' (2021) * Brian Lynch; ''Bus Stop Serenade'' (2021)

References

General references *

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...

Jim Snidero James J. Snidero (born May 29, 1958 in Redwood City, California, United States) is an American jazz saxophonist. Performance career Snidero grew up in the Washington DC area (Camp Springs, MD), then attended the U of North Texas and performed in ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Inline citations

External links

Official websiteJazzimprovisation.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snidero, Jim 1958 births Living people American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists University of North Texas College of Music alumni Milestone Records artists Criss Cross Jazz artists Red Records artists 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Double-Time Records artists