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David Bixler

Saxophonist, composer, educator, husband, father of four, grandfather, blessed

About Me

After moving to NYC thirty years ago, saxophonist, composer, and educator David Bixler cut his teeth touring the world with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Toshiko Akioshi. He later joined the Chico O’Farrill Afro-Cuban Big Band, with whom he played a decade-long residency of Sunday evenings at Birdland and won a LATIN GRAMMY for the recording, Final Night at Birdland. The passage of time encompassed a twelve year period of managing his son’s health issues which caused a humbling reboot to his priorities in life and the role of music in it. In the summer of 2016, after reevaluating his circumstances he recorded In the Face of Chaos (2019) with Bixler, Boccato, Cowherd, and Sturm, Blended Lineage (2020) with the Bixtet, and Inside the Grief (2020) with trio incognito. His latest project, THE LANGSTON HUGHES PROJECT vol. 1, which PARIS-MOVE describes as “a touch of genius” is a new recording featuring music inspired by the poetry of Langston Hughes.. Bixler is the host of LINER NOTES with David Bixler, a podcast centered on conversations with jazz musicians. He also serves as Director of Jazz Studies at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. As both a Selmer and Vandoren Artist he is active as a clinician and performer throughout the world. Bixler and his family reside in New York City.

My Jazz Story

I love jazz because it is the sound of hope.