Mike DiRubbo

Mike DiRubbo at
Smalls, NYC

Today, in an age where media-created young lions are more interested in downloads than down beats, alto saxophonist/composer/bandleader/educator Mike DiRubbo is the real deal. Ever since he arrived in New York two decades ago, DiRubbo has reigned supreme as one of the most durable and dynamic musicians of his generation. That bold statement is augmented by the aural evidence of his work with the brightest jazz stars including Tony Reedus, Larry Willis, Eddie Henderson, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Dwayne Burno, Peter Washington, Carl Allen, John Hicks and Cecil Payne, and as a solo artist, with seven critically-acclaimed CD’s as a leader. DiRubbo has worked in various New York clubs including Smalls, Smoke, 55 Bar, the Kitano, and has also performed in many national and international venues including the Litchfield Jazz Festival, Vizta Jazz in Rio de Janeiro, The Maze in Rio de Janeiro, the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival, the Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz, the JVC Jazz Festival in NYC and the Jazz, Blues and Videotape festival in Tel Aviv, Ferrara Jazz in Italy, and Ancona Jazz Festival.
On his instrument DiRubbo has it all: from Benny Carter’s mastery of melody and Johnny Hodges’ ballad mellow tones to Charlie Parker’s light-speed fluency. But what truly sets DiRubbo apart from the rest was his apprenticeship under the legendary alto saxophonist/educator Jackie McLean: the Harlem bebop whiz kid who literally grew up on Miles Davis and Charlie Parker and surged the alto saxophone toward the change of the century with his alto-centric embrace of hard and post-bop, soul jazz and the avant-garde.

Mike DiRubbo's Website