Grammy-Nominated Jazz Saxophonist Antonio Hart Is a Brother of Alpha Phi Alpha

Did you know that one of the most respected alto saxophonists in modern jazz is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.? His name is Antonio Hart, and he has spent his career performing on the world’s great stages and training the next generation of jazz musicians.

Antonio Hart was born on September 30, 1968, in Baltimore, Maryland. He got his start at the Baltimore School for the Arts before continuing his training at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied under saxophonists including Bill Pierce, Andy McGhee, and Joe Viola. He is a brother of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans, was founded in 1906 at Cornell University.

It was at Berklee that Hart met the trumpeter Roy Hargrove, and the two formed a partnership that would launch both of their careers. As his official biography notes, Hart spent three years touring the world with Hargrove and recording Hargrove’s first three albums, work that introduced him to the international jazz scene. He went on to earn a master’s degree at Queens College, City University of New York, where he studied with jazz legends Jimmy Heath and Donald Byrd.

Hart quickly established himself as a leader in his own right. His 1997 album Here I Stand, released on Impulse Records, earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo. Over the years he has appeared on more than 100 recordings as a guest and released several albums as a bandleader, including Don’t You Know I Care, produced by his mentor Jimmy Heath. He has performed with an extraordinary list of artists, among them Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Holland, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Gerald Wilson.

Today, Hart passes his knowledge on to a new generation. According to the Kennedy Center, he serves as a tenured professor of jazz studies at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, all while continuing to tour with ensembles including the Dave Holland Big Band and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band.

From the Baltimore School for the Arts to the world’s biggest jazz stages and the university classroom, Alpha Phi Alpha’s Antonio Hart has built a life around the music he loves and the students he mentors.

We at Watch The Yard would like to commend Brother Antonio Hart for his contributions to jazz and to music education.

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