Teodross Avery epitomizes live musicbest experienced front row and full throttle. While growing up in Oakland and Vacaville, California, his parents introduced him to a wide range of music including traditional Eastern and Western African music, Soul, Rock, and Jazz. At ten, his father started him with classical guitar lessons. Jolted by the sound of John Coltranes Giant Steps, Teodross switched to the saxophone at thirteen. As a testament to his young promise, Wynton Marsalis purchased a saxophone for him. Teodross eventually won a full music scholarship to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston....
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Teodross Avery epitomizes live musicbest experienced front row and full throttle. While growing up in Oakland and Vacaville, California, his parents introduced him to a wide range of music including traditional Eastern and Western African music, Soul, Rock, and Jazz. At ten, his father started him with classical guitar lessons. Jolted by the sound of John Coltranes Giant Steps, Teodross switched to the saxophone at thirteen. As a testament to his young promise, Wynton Marsalis purchased a saxophone for him. Teodross eventually won a full music scholarship to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston.
While at Berklee, renowned A&R exec, Carl Griffin of GRP/Impulse Records, heard of
Teodross cutting edge sound and eventually signed him at nineteen, stating, I was so thoroughly impressed with his lyricism and writing talent. In 1994, Teodross launched his first album, In Other Words, to critical acclaim, including a five star review in USA Today. While still an undergraduate, he was sought after by legendary artists like Aretha Franklin, Betty Carter and Ramsey Lewis and completed college while touring. After moving to New York City, Teodross landed a performing role in the major motion picture, Love Jones, in 1995 and released his second album, My Generation, under the GRP/ Impulse label, in 1996. He went on to perform with Dee Dee Bridgewater, Roy Hargrove, Leela James, Roy Ayers, and Mos Def among many other great musicians. Lauryn Hill requested him as a member of her sold-out world tour from 1998 to 1999 and in 2000, he was invited to tour with the mega rock group Matchbox Twenty.
As a composer and producer, Teodross has amassed a number of credits including the feature films Beauty Shop, Brown Sugar, Love Jones and the documentary, The N Word. He wrote music for Amy Winehouses debut album, Frank (Island Records). His television performances include: Blackish (2015), American Idol, MTVs TRL, Ellen, The CBS Morning Show with Shakira (2006), VH1, Regis & Kelly with Leela James (2005); The Essence Awards, Soul Train Awards, Source Awards, Saturday Night Live, MTV Awards, and Billboard Music Awards with Lauryn Hill (1998-99).
As a session saxophonist, Teodross has collaborated with a number of award-winning artists on their productions, including Amy Winehouse Frank (Island Records) 2004 Gold Record; G-Unit All Stars (Shady/Aftermath Records) 2004 3X Platinum; Joss Stone Mind, Body, & Soul (EMI) 2004 2X Platinum; Talib Kweli Quality (Rawkus Records) 2002 Gold Record; Talib Kweli Reflection Eternal (Rawkus Records) 2000 Gold Record; Dee Dee Bridgewater Dear Ella (Verve Records) 2X Grammy Winner 1997. Teodross received a Doctorate in Jazz Studies from the University of Southern California in 2016 and he holds a Masters degree in Music from the Steinhardt School of Education at New York University. He has lectured and performed at the Kennedy Center, National Jazz Museum, and Temple University among others institutions and he is the recipient of multiple awards, including The Sony Innovator Award, The National Foundation for The Advancement in The Arts Clifford Brown/Stan Getz Fellowship, and The NAACP ACT-SO Award.
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