For three decades, the New Haven-born, New York City-based alto saxophonist, bandleader and educator Mike DiRubbo has reigned supreme as a master of his instrument, as evidenced by his forthcoming recording Way Out Northwest, Recorded in Vancouver, British Columbia. A pun on the title of Sonny Rollins’ epic 1957 LP, Way Out West, Way Out Northwest showcases DiRubbo with a Vancouver rhythm section, swinging on the 8 tracks of no-nonsense, straight-ahead jazz, featuring original compositions by DiRubbo, which include his tributes to pianist Harold Mabern and trumpeter Jim Rotondi.

 

Honoring Jazz ancestors while moving the music forward has been DiRubbo’s stock-in-trade, ever since he studied at Jackie McLean’s Institute of Jazz of the Hartt School, University of Hartford, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Music in 1992, and earned a Master of Music in 2018 from SUNY College at Purchase. DiRubbo has been a teaching artist at the Litchfield Jazz Camp for 30 years, and more recently at the Stanford Jazz Workshop.

 

DiRubbo moved to New York City in 1997 and quickly established himself as a leader and a valued sideman with Al Foster, Jim Rotondi, Steve Davis, Cecil Payne, Tony Reedus, Joe Farnsworth, David Hazeltine, Steve Nelson, Peter Washington, Carl Allen, Mike LeDonne, Dwayne Burno, Larry Willis, Harold Mabern, Jimmy Cobb and many others.

 

DiRubbo’s 10 recordings as a leader from 1994 to 2023 include: From the Inside Out, Keep Steppin’, Human Spirit, New York Accent - Live at Kitano, Repercussion, Chronos, Four Hands, One Heart, Threshold, Mike DiRubbo Quartet – “Live at Smalls” and Inner Light.

 

 DiRubbo has been featured in magazines such as Jazziz, Hot House, JazzTimes, Down Beat and JazzWise. He’s also a perennial presence in The Down Beat International Critics Poll in the Rising Star: Alto Saxophone category.

 

Mike DiRubbo is an RW Reeds artist.