Home » Jazz Musicians » Stacy Dillard

Stacy Dillard

Stacy Dillard, raised in Muskegon Heights, Michigan, started playing the saxophone at a rather late age. In his hometown, there isn't much music happening, but only Robert Moore, Stacy's band instructor, and a host of close friends. Athletics was a big part of his life, leading to the late start on the instrument. Stacy attended college at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio to study with Dr. William Denza, Jim Smith, Chris Berg, and Lenard Moses. Very quickly, Dillard acquired the necessary knowledge that would soon put his name out on the local scene. It was a run-in with Wynton Marsalis in Dayton, Ohio that would turn his attention to the New York Scene. After graduation, Stacy took the act to Cincinnati, where he stayed for a short time and made his first recording appearance with Mike Wade on trumpet, drummer Melvin Broach and pianist William Menefield. Maturation was very rapid, finally leading the way to New York.

“Stacy is a one-of-a-kind musician. Seriously." —Roy Hargrove

“A young saxophonist of serious promise" (Ben Ratliff, The New York Times), Stacy has caught the attention of many with his large and rich tone, developed ideas, accurate technique, work ethic, and patience, leading to a number of working opportunities. Dillard has played with Winard Harper, Cindy Blackmon, Lenny White, Norman Simmons, Frank Lacy, Wycliffe Gordon, Eric Reed, Roy Hargrove, Stephon Harris, Ernestine Anderson, Terrell Stafford, Herlin Riley, John Hicks, Frank Wess, Mulgrew Miller, Clark Terry, Victor Lewis, Steve Wilson, Johnny O'neal, Antonio Hart, Russell Malone, Lewis Nash, Mark Whitfield, the Mingus Big Band, and a host of others in different genres of music, including Shirley Ceasar, Alex Bugnon, Stephanie Mills, Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, and more.

“Hey man, this (censored) can play. This MF can PLAY!" Wynton Marsalis

As well as being a sideman, Stacy Dillard is currently leading three bands of his own. cPhyve is the genesis project, along with cPhour, which is stylistically similar to cPhyve. The Other Side is exactly what the name says. The cast of members are the same as cPhyve, but r&b/funk/hip-hop oriented.

To sum it all up, Stacy Dillard is a perfect example of the fusing of tradition and innovation, the combination which keeps EVERYTHING fresh, exciting, energetic, theraputic, and more importantly, real.

Acceleration Due To Gravity: Jonesville

Read "Jonesville" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
February 16, 2024

Bassist, composer and arranger Moppa Elliott's uniquely-titled nonet Acceleration Due To Gravity presents Jonesville a gravity- defying jazz odyssey. It pays a captivating homage to influential bassist Sam Jones by weaving a sonic tapestry which transcends the boundaries of conventional jazz. In this brief seven-track, twenty-one-minute outing, four compositions are by Elliott, with the remainder being Sam Jones' originals. The members of the octet who participated in this unusual musical excursion are trumpeter Bobby Spellman, trombonist Dave Taylor, alto saxophonist ...

Album Review

Moppa Elliott's Acceleration Due To Gravity: Jonesville

Read "Jonesville" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic

by Mike Jurkovic
February 11, 2024

Whatever 'script renegade bassist/composer Moppa Elliot takes on a daily basis, he should be made to share with the rest of the world. Whatever that tonic, whatever that pill, whatever that gumbo scented elixir is, let us have it now. Elliot may not want to open up his private stash to the public, but he sure knows how to let it fly in the music he and his nonet--Acceleration Due to Gravity--put forth on the rightly raucous and ...

Album Review

Brandon Goldberg: In Good Time

Read "In Good Time" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic

by Mike Jurkovic
October 21, 2021

Pianist Brandon Goldberg may not have the seasoned years behind him yet, (In Good Time finds him brewing with ideas most fifteen-year-olds never tackle) but it is no more a beloved veteran than the late Ralph Peterson who, via a wisely archived voice mail, urges the young man “What's up Brandon, gimme a shout man we hook up later this week!" The drummer and cat supreme then wishes him “Peace" and a split second later the barnstorming, deftly pugilistic “Authority" ...

Album Review

Joel Harrison: America at War

Read "America at War" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
July 12, 2021

"È tutta la vita che il mio paese conduce tragiche e futili invasioni straniere. Ho sentito che dovevo scrivere su questo fatto, infondere nella mia nuova musica la sua dolorosa eredità." Queste riflessioni aprono il nuovo disco di Joel Harrison, ritornato a sette anni di distanza da Infinite Possibility a guidare un ensemble orchestrale. La storia bellica degli Stati Uniti è piuttosto lunga: in 245 anni ha combattuto 123 conflitti militari vivendo solo 18 anni in completa pace. ...

Album Review

Sketches of Influence: The Grind - Sketches of Influence

Read "The Grind - Sketches of Influence" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello

by Nicholas F. Mondello
April 5, 2021

Shortly before the COVID pandemic went full force lockdown, Troy, New York drummer Joe Barna and his group, “Sketches of Influence" recorded this live album at the Middle C Jazz Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. The audience that evening was either the most polite as listeners, or, more likely they were taken up by the killer performance of this ensemble. This album verifies the latter. The performance offers six extended tracks, all Barna originals. The opener, “The ...

Album Review

Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band: The Intangible Between

Read "The Intangible Between" reviewed by Paul Rauch

by Paul Rauch
May 19, 2020

Pianist Orrin Evans has a deep understanding of the unshakeable bond between fellowship, humanity and the creative process. That knowledge has guided him through creating a remarkable catalog of music as both a leader and sideman, along the way, experiencing the fellowship of a collective of musicians he often refers to as “The Village." The Village is indeed real, and most aptly expressed musically through the The Captain Black Big Band, Evans' ensemble of anywhere between nine and ...

Album Review

John Bailey: Can You Imagine?

Read "Can You Imagine?" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
February 28, 2020

Letting his imagination roam free, trumpeter John Bailey envisions a world in which one of his musical touchstones, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, is president of the United States--one in which Gillespie's cabinet includes Duke Ellington (secretary of state), Louis Armstrong (secretary of agriculture) and Miles Davis (CIA director). The fact is, Gillespie did “run" for president in 1964, a crusade that was far more satirical than serious. Nevertheless, as was his fashion, Gillespie milked his “candidacy" for all it was worth, ...

Music Industry

Acclaimed Canadian Jazz Drummer Samuel Bolduc Teams Up With Grammy Nominated American Saxophonist Stacy Dillard

Source: All About Jazz
August 23, 2023

Grammy-nominated saxophonist Stacy Dillard is thrilled to announce a new collaboration with an acclaimed Canadian drummer, composer, and music director Samuel Bolduc. Discovered by Wynton Marsalis and acclaimed by The New York Times, Dillard, 46, who was nominated for the Grammy Award in 2023, is a perfect example of the fusing of tradition and innovation. A drumming prodigy Bolduc, 25, who has dominated Canadian music scene for a decade since leading his own band Disconnected Blind to the national Emergenza ...
read more

Recording

George DeLancey - Self-Titled Debut CD - With Aaron Diehl, Lawrence Leathers, Stacy Dillard & More!

Source: Scott Thompson Public Relations
August 3, 2016

Rodney Whitaker's Protégé GEORGE DELANCEY Self-Titled Debut CD NYC Release Gig: September 28- Smalls Jazz Club CD Features All-Star Band Including: Aaron Diehl, Lawrence Leathers, Stacy Dillard and more! Straight Ahead Hard Swingin'! Bassist/composer/bandleader George DeLancey busted out with his self-titled debut CD July 9, 2016 to critical acclaim and nationwide airplay. He features an all-star lineup of young musicians crossing the spectrum of the New York jazz scene. Together they create a tight program of ...
read more

Recording

Tine Bruhn & Johnny O'Neal Release "nearness" On March 26 featuring Special Guest Stacy Dillard

Source: Michael Bloom Media Relations
March 25, 2013

Tine Bruhn (pronounced Tina Broohn) moved to New York City in 2001 after having graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston. She quickly became part of New York’s jazz scene performing at some of the city’s best music venues including Smalls and Bar Next Door. She consistently plays with some of the top musicians in NYC and she has become a regular at the well-known jazz club Zinc Bar. Ms. Bruhn performs weekly in duo setting with pianist Johnny ...
read more

336

TV / Film

Stacy Dillard, Eric Reed to Star in "Chaography," a New Fiction Film Celebrating New York's Jazz Scene

Source: Michael Ricci
November 28, 2009

Director Douglas Chang and Executive Producer Ronald Tikofsky have announced the upcoming production of Chang's new feature, “CHAOGRAPHY: Variations on the Theme of Freedom," in 2010. Anchored by original music to be composed and performed by some of the most exciting young musicians in jazz today, the film will seek to explore what freedom really means, using jazz as a mirror of the choices we make in our individual and collective pursuit of happiness.

Heading the roster of musical talent ...
read more

194

Festival