Vincent York at Gandy Dancer Courtyard Jazz Series at Gandy Dancer

Ann Arbor saxophonist Vincent York is a composer, bandleader, educator, and advocate for the arts. One of the leading post-bop reed players in Michigan, he is also the founder of the educational organization “Jazzistry,” and a teacher and mentor to young musicians on the Ann Arbor jazz scene. Two of his former students, bassist Ben Rolston and drummer Jesse Kramer round out this trio which performs hard hitting swing, gospel influenced soul jazz and latin jazz.
After becoming Southern University’s first jazz studies major, studying under clarinet master Alvin Batiste, Vincent York studied saxophone as a Masters student at the University of Michigan...

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Ann Arbor saxophonist Vincent York is a composer, bandleader, educator, and advocate for the arts. One of the leading post-bop reed players in Michigan, he is also the founder of the educational organization “Jazzistry,” and a teacher and mentor to young musicians on the Ann Arbor jazz scene. Two of his former students, bassist Ben Rolston and drummer Jesse Kramer round out this trio which performs hard hitting swing, gospel influenced soul jazz and latin jazz.
After becoming Southern University’s first jazz studies major, studying under clarinet master Alvin Batiste, Vincent York studied saxophone as a Masters student at the University of Michigan. York was soon invited to join The Duke Ellington Orchestra, led by Mercer Ellington, trumpeter and son of the legendary Duke Ellington. Moving back and forth between the music scenes in New Orleans, New York, and Detroit, York has recorded or played with noteworthy jazz artists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn as well as Motown names such as The Temptations, The Four Tops, Aretha Franklin and Martha Reeves. From 1996 to 2000, Vincent York was a Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs Artist-in-Residence at Community High School in Ann Arbor, where he formed and taught numerous student jazz combos. During this period, Vincent York discovered the satisfaction in working with young musicians and promoting jazz studies as a mentor to a new generation of jazz musicians.

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