Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Joe Rigby was born on September 3, 1940 in Harlem, New York and grew up in the Sugar Hill neighborhood where his neighbors included Johnny Hodges, Sonny Rollins, Jackie McLean, and Kenny Burrell. He started playing piano when he was six and began playing flute and clarinet in high school. His focus eventually switched to the saxophone after hearing John Coltrane and Charlie Parker.

Graduating from the College of Staten Island he earned a bachelor’s degree in Music and a minor in Music Education. Rigby would go on to study privately with Joe Allard, Garvin Bushell, and Anders Paulsson. He taught instrumental music with the New York City Board of Education from 1989 until he retired in 2004, and was named New York’s Music Teacher of the Year in 1996.

Performing on alto, soprano, baritone and sopranino saxophone, Joe began performing professionally with Milton Graves, Johnny Copeland, and Steve Reid, with whom he led the Master Brotherhood. In the late 1970s, he formed and led his own group, Dynasty.

Establishing his Homeboy record label, he released a record with trumpeter Ted Daniel, and the album Music as a solo artist in 2009. The same year he recorded on French label Improvising Beings, releasing For Harriet with a quartet which included bagpiper player Calum MacCrimmon.

Tenor, alto, baritone, soprano and sopranino saxophonist Joe Rigby, who also plays flute and piccolo, died on July 16, 2019 at the age of 78.

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