Bob Mintzer
Welcome to the website of a man who leads several musical lives.

Saxophonist Bob Mintzer is a twenty year member of the Grammy award winning Yellowjackets who also leads a Grammy winning Big Band, travels with his own Quartet, and plays with numerous bands globally.

A respected educator, Bob is the recipient of the Buzz McCoy endowed chair of jazz studies at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Based in Los Angeles, Bob continues to conduct clinics and workshops worldwide. He has also written nearly twenty books which are an important part of the curriculum of Jazz education worldwide.

Bob writes for orchestra, concert band and big band, with over two hundred charts to his credit. His big band music is performed by groups all over the planet. Bob honed his big band writing and playing skills in the bands of Tito Puente, Buddy Rich and Thad Jones-Mel Lewis.

He has also written works for the National Symphony Orchestra, Metropole Orchestra of the Netherlands. WDR Big band in Cologne, HR Big Band in Frankfurt, and was commissioned to write a piece for concert band and tenor sax ("Go") by a consortium of 50 universities.

As an instrumentalist Bob has worked with Art Blakey, Jaco Pastorius, Sam Jones, Randy Brecker, Gil Evans, the Yellowjackets, GRP All Star Big Band, Mike Manieri, and The New York Philharmonic, to name a few. He has done session work for James Taylor, Steve Winwood, Queen, Donald Fagan, Milton Nascimento, and countless others.

Latest News

June 29, 2013 - New Video:
Motifs - A Compositional Tool for Improvisation


Nov 14, 2012 -

New Video: I've always loved Classical Music and in my new video, I discuss, with examples, how Jazz improvisers can best utilize classical music.


YouTube Excerpt | Buy This Video


Sept 05, 2012 -

Video Lesson: Rhythm and the Saxophone


Rhythm is the engine and in many ways primary focus of jazz improvisation. All the rhythms played in a jazz quartet setting fit together like an elaborate puzzle when things are working well. By focusing on the rhythmical aspect of improvising one can develop a real sense of evolution and structure in soloing that enables the rest of the band to better play with you, and the listening audience to hear where you are going and what you are getting at. In this lesson I site several things to focus on and work towards having to do with rhythm and the systematic approach to using rhythm in improvising solos.


YouTube Excerpt | Buy This Video


June 06, 2012 - Signed copies of Brazilian Big Band cd "For the Moment" available now

Mar 30, 2012 - Booking Now for 2013: The Bob Mintzer Big Band with Special Guests Chico Pinheiro and Kurt Elling. Check out the Booking video.

May 12, 2012 - Follow me on Twitter

Mar 07, 2012 - Video Lesson - Attack, Sustain, Decay. Bob Mintzer's second video lesson focuses on the way notes are played. This twelve minute streaming lesson, which you can access at any time on any device, will be of great interest to all horn players, and sax players in particular, dealing with the way notes are attacked, sustained, and decay, in great part determining your sound and style as an instrumentalist.
Video Lesson- Sound of the Saxophone This the first video lesson that deals with sound production and the various components that determine sound and style, and where the information to develop a "sound" might come from.

July 30, 2012 - NEW! I'm playing a wonderful new tenor mouthpiece made by Rafy Navarro called the "bebop special". It is the best mouthpiece I've ever played. Check it out at rafaelnavarro.com

April 07, 2011 - Signed copies of Canyon Cove with Larry Goldings-organ Peter Erskine- drums, and Bob Mintzer-tenor sax, bass clarinet, and flute is available on the cd page.