Associate Professor of Music in Jazz Saxophone Gregory Tardy is one of the most versatile jazz musicians of his generation, equally comfortable in a variety of musical and improvisational situations.  Born into a musical family, he began his musical career studying classical clarinet with Russell Dagon and Jack Snavely. In his early 20s, while preparing for a symphony career he discovered jazz saxophone and hasn’t looked back.

In 1993, he started playing with the legendary drummer, Elvin Jones. As a sought after sideman he has played in the bands of many prominent jazz artists including: Andrew Hill, Tom Harrell, Dave Douglas, Wynton Marsalis, Jay McShann, Nicholas Payton, Roy Hargrove, Steve Coleman, Betty Carter, Don Byron, Bill Frisell, Rashied Ali, Ellis Marsalis, Brian Lynch, John Patitucci, and many more. He has also performed and/or recorded along with many other notable saxophonists, such as Joe Lovano, Mark Turner, Chris Potter, Dewey Redman, Ravi Coltrane, and others. In more recent years, Tardy has gone full circle, by focusing on his clarinets more, using them on recordings by Tom Harrell, Ohad Talmor/Steve Swallow, Stefan Harris, Chris Potter and Andrew Hill.

His performance schedule has taken him all over the world, playing at all of the major jazz festivals and on some of the biggest stages in jazz.  As a sideman, he has been featured on several Downbeat Albums of the Year and also several Grammy nominated recordings; including a Grammy winning CD with Brian Lynch in 2006.  Since 1992, he also has recorded fifteen recording projects under his own name featuring his unique compositions, blending his love of traditional jazz with a more modern seeking style. His latest project, Sufficient Grace was released in the fall of 2022 on WJ3 Records.