New jazzer backs Vandoren reed brand

Jazz saxophonist Dave O’Higgins is lending his name to Barnes & Mullins’ Vandoren reed range, becoming an official artist.

He will now be using a selection of Vandoren mouthpieces and reeds to power his array of instruments. O’Higgins has been playing since childhood and is known primarily for his jazz playing on tenor and soprano saxophones, writing, arranging and band leading. 

He has made 16 albums and spent years on the road and in the studio with the likes of Joe Locke, Martin Taylor, Joey Calderazzo, Ray Charles, Jim Mullen, BBC Big Band, Itchy Fingers, Ronnie Scott’s Allstars, Jimmy Smith, Frank Sinatra, Jason Rebello, Phil Dwyer, Stan Tracey, Eric Alexander, Brubecks Play Brubeck, Darius Brubeck Quartet, Kyle Eastwood Band and Jamie Cullum.

As well as his regular working group, The Dave O’Higgins Quartet, he also co-leads the Abstract Truth Big Band, teaches saxophone, harmony and improvisation at the London Centre For Contemporary Music and runs a specialist jazz recording studio where he records, engineers, mixes and masters work by world class jazz musicians.