Teodross Avery

Emerging in the mid-1990s as a promising young lion, the soulful jazz saxophonist Teodross Avery demonstrated his command of the hard bop tradition through releases such as In Other Words and My Generation. Over time he expanded his palette, incorporating post-bop harmonies alongside R&B, funk, and hip-hop on the 2001 album New Day Groove and on 2017’s Post Modern Trap Music.

Born in Oakland, California, Avery was raised in a household steeped in music where his parents introduced him to jazz, African music, R&B, funk, and rock. He began with classical guitar studies at age ten before taking up the saxophone at thirteen. Early exposure to John Coltrane fueled rapid development, culminating in a Berklee College of Music scholarship at seventeen. There he worked with Joe Henderson while fronting his own ensembles, eventually attracting the notice of GRP/Impulse! executive Carl Griffin, who offered him a contract.

Just before turning twenty-one, Avery issued his debut leader date, In Other Words, in 1994, which included a guest spot from trumpeter Roy Hargrove. After completing his Berklee studies he performed alongside Betty Carter and Ramsey Lewis. His 1996 follow-up, My Generation, channeled the soul-jazz spirit of Stanley Turrentine and enlisted bassist Rodney Whitaker, drummer Greg Hutchinson, pianist Charles Craig, and guitarists John Scofield, Mark Whitfield, and Peter Bernstein. That same year he appeared with fellow young lions Black/Note on Nothin’ But the Swing and later recorded with Dee Dee Bridgewater and Donald Harrison.

New Day Groove, his third album, arrived in 2001 and embraced gritty 1970s funk and hip-hop rhythms. Over the ensuing years Avery contributed to film and television scores while collaborating with artists such as Lauryn Hill, Leela James, Mos Def, and Amy Winehouse. In 2008 he presented his eclectic approach on Diva’s Choice and Bridging the Gap: Hip-Hop Jazz.

Balancing performance with scholarship, he earned a master’s degree in music from New York University’s Steinhardt School of Education and received a doctorate in jazz studies from the University of Southern California in 2016. The next year he released his sixth studio album, Post Modern Trap Music. In 2019 he saluted John Coltrane with the live recording After the Rain: A Night for Coltrane, captured at Oakland’s The Sound Room in the company of pianist Adam Shulman, bassist Jeff Chambers, and drummer Darrell Green.