Adam Larson

Adam Larson (born 6 January 1991) is an American saxophonist, jazz musician, composer, and author based in Kansas City, Missouri.

Larson was born on 6 January 1991 in Normal, Illinois. He comes from a musical family; her mother is a trumpeter and his father, a drummer. His first instrument was drums at about age 7. He also played piano during that time, but ultimately he settled with the saxophone. 

Beginning in 2002, Larson trained on saxophone with his professor Larry Harms. He studied with him from 2002-2004 privately and then participated in his junior college reading band that met every Monday from 2004-2008.

During his high school years, Larson was a member of various national programs dedicated to showcasing excellence in young jazz talent including The Grammy Band, Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, Betty Carter Jazz Ahead, YoungArts Jazz Fellows, Telluride Student All-Stars, and Jazz Band of America.

After graduating from University High school in 2008, Larson moved to New York City to study music on full scholarship at the Manhattan School of Music, from where he earned his bachelor's degree in 2012 and the master's degree in 2014. He trained on saxophone with George Garzone, Donny McCaslin, Steve Wilson, and Rich Perry. He also took a few one-off lessons with saxophonists Ben Wendel and Joel Frahm. For classical composition, he studied with John Bernard Riley, Phil Markowitz, and Mark Stambaugh. He was the recipient of the William H. Borden Award for Outstanding Performance in Jazz in 2014.

Larson released his first album Looking East in 2008, while he was still in high school. In 2013, he released his next album Simple Beauty, which he considers his official debut album. The same year, he also self-produced the album Overdue Ovation with his quintet.

In 2015, he released Selective Amnesia on Inner Circle Music with bassist Matt Penman, guitarist Matthew Stevens, pianist Fabian Almazan, and drummer Jimmy Macbride. That year, he also toured Africa with his quartet on behalf of the State Department as part of the American Music Abroad program.

In 2017, Larson released his next recording "Second City," which received a four-star rating from Downbeat magazine and was listed as one of the best releases of 2017 in both Downbeat and Jazziz magazine. His fifth record "Listen With Your Eyes," featuring Fabian Almazan (on piano and keys), Matt Clohesy (electric bass), and Jimmy Macbride (drums), was released on Ropeadope Records on September 6, 2019.

He has been part of several recordings including guitarist Nils Weinhold's Shapes, drummer Bastian Weinhold's River Styx and Cityscape, Till Bennewitz's New York Sessions, and trombonist Marcus Lewis' Facing East. He has also collaborated with Jamie Cullum, Ted Rosenthal, drummer Ari Hoenig, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, drummer Otis Brown III, trumpeter Michael Rodríguez, and pianist Helen Sung. 

Over the years, Larson has performed at many well-known venues including The Jazz Standard, New York; Birdland, New York; The 55 Bar, New York; The Jazz Gallery, New York; The Blue Note, New York; The Village Vanguard, New York; Smalls, New York; Jazz at The Bistro, St. Louis, Missouri; The Jazz Estate, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and The Jazz Showcase, Chicago, Illinois.

Larson was a guest artist at the 2017 Sopot Jazz Festival in Sopot, Poland, and has toured India, Taiwan, Holland, and Germany. In 2015 Larson's quartet was selected as one of ten ensembles to tour on behalf of the U.S. State Department's "American Music Abroad" program and toured Africa for 35 days visiting The Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Benin, and Ghana.

Larson currently teaches saxophone and music business at University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory in Kansas City, Missouri. He is also a Teaching Artist for "Let Freedom Swing" program at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York. He has served as a mentor for the Grammy Foundation and as an adjudicator for the YoungArts organization.

Larson cites his favorite musicians as Joe Henderson, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Lester Young, Chris Potter, Seamus Blake, Ben Wendel, and Michael Brecker.

Adam has authored two jazz books. In 2018, he self-published Leaps & Sounds: 12 Contemporary Etudes for Jazz Saxophone (Volumes I and II). In 2019, he authored Conversation Starters: 180 pieces of Jazz Vocabulary.

Larson currently resides in Kansas City, Missouri with his wife Tierney (married 2014). They have two children.