The Boss Baritones with Gary Smulyan & Frank Basile

Inspired by the rich history of the great 2-tenor pairings in jazz (Lester Young & Herschel Evans, Gene Ammons & Sonny Stitt, Lockjaw Davis & Johnny Griffin, etc.), the Boss Baritones continue this tradition, but with the lower range baritone saxophones. Featuring two of today's finest exponents and practitioners of the bari sax in jazz – Gary Smulyan and Frank Basile, The Boss Baritones made their debut in March of 2020 at Smalls Jazz Club in New York City just before the pandemic, which put their efforts on hold. They have since been regaining their momentum with performances in New York City (including return engagements at Smalls) as well as with their eponymous debut recording on Steeplechase Records. Smulyan is a 6-time Grammy winner and is regarded as today's leading baritone saxophonist. Since his stint as the baritone chair in Woody Herman's Young Thundering Herd in 1978, he has performed with everyone from the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, the Gene Harris Superband, B.B. King, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Lovano, Dave Holland, to name a few. Basile, a "rising star," who has consistently appeared in the Downbeat critic's poll since 2014, has been dubbed a "prized sideman" by The New Yorker, having performed with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, the Christian McBride Big Band, Count Basie Orchestra and many more. Gary Smulyan and Frank Basile will be accompanied by New Mexico’s own Bob Fox, piano; Terry Burns, bass; and John Trentacosta, drums.