Saxophonist Jon Irabagon, who grew up in Morton Grove and later Gurnee and studied music at DePaul University, has steadily made a name for himself since relocating to New York in 2001 to pursue further studies at the Manhattan School of Music. For the plast few years he’s earned plaudits for his work in the gonzo freebop quartet Mostly Other People Do the Killing, and last year he made an impressive debut as a leader with his band Outright! With these projects and as an in-demand sideman he routinely erases the boundaries between hard bop and free jazz, excelling at both approaches.
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JI: Yeah, I wasn’t expecting to even make the semifinals, let alone the finals or winning it. It was a totally scary and weird experience, but it was great. Having five superfamous jazz saxophone players, including Wayne Shorter, who’s one of my biggest idols, sitting there and taking notes and judging the way you play, and comparing it to 11 other people—it was totally weird and artificial and scary. But at the same time it was super fun and it was a great hang. I definitely have spent time learning how to play straight-ahead and in the tradition, but I definitely have some other interests that most of the other people there didn’t necessarily have.
