Jon Faddis


Jon Faddis is an American jazz trumpet player, conductor, composer, and educator, renowned for both his playing and for his expertise in the field of music education. Upon his first appearance on the scene, he became known for his ability to closely mirror the sound of trumpet icon Dizzy Gillespie, who was his mentor along with pianist Stan Kenton and trumpeter Bill Catalano.

Biography

Jon Faddis was born in Oakland, California, United States. He played trumpet in the Oakland Symphony's Youth Chamber Orchestra, directed by composer Robert Hughes. In 1970 he participated in the YCO historic performance program and tour of "The Black Composer in America" to the American South, later recorded on the Desto label. At 18, he joined Lionel Hampton's big band before joining the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra as lead trumpet. After playing with Charles Mingus in his early twenties, Faddis became a noted studio musician in New York City, appearing on many pop recordings in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
One such recording was the Players Association's cover of "Disco Inferno", from their LP Born to Dance, on which he plays trumpet. In the mid-1980s, he left the studios to continue to pursue his solo career, which resulted in albums such as Legacy, Into the Faddisphere and Hornucopia. He became the director and main trumpet soloist of the Dizzy Gillespie 70th Birthday Big Band and Dizzy's United Nation Orchestra.
From 1992 to 2002, Faddis led the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band at Carnegie Hall, conducting more than 40 concerts in ten years, during which time the CHJB presented over 135 musicians, featured over 70 guest artists, and premiered works by over 35 composers and arrangers at Carnegie Hall.
In 1997, Faddis composed the jazz opera Lulu Noire, which was presented at USA in Charleston, South Carolina, as well as at the American Music Theater Festival in Philadelphia.
Faddis appeared in the 1998 movie Blues Brothers 2000, playing trumpet with the Louisiana Gator Boys.
In 1999, Faddis released the Grammy Award-nominated Remembrances, which was composed almost entirely of ballads and featured work from Argentinian composer/arranger Carlos Franzetti.
Faddis also led the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars and the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars Big Band from their inception in 1998 through 2004, when he was appointed artistic director of the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, based at Columbia College Chicago in Illinois. Faddis led the CJE from autumn 2004 though spring 2010, premiering significant new works, pioneering educational initiatives in Chicago public schools focusing on Louis Armstrong's music, and bringing the CJE into new venues, while concurrently leading the Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra of New York.
In 2006, the Jon Faddis Quartet released the CD Teranga, featuring guests including Clark Terry, Russell Malone, Gary Smulyan, and Frank Wess.
As of May 2010, Faddis leads the JFJONY, while continuing also to lead the Jon Faddis Quartet and the JFQ+2. The JFJONY headlined The Kennedy Center's New Year's Eve performance in December 2010 ; the JFJONY has also performed at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, the Performing Arts Center in Westchester, New York, the Newport Jazz Festival and other venues.
Faddis is also a noted educator for jazz and the trumpet. Faddis has taught – and continues to teach – at the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College-SUNY, in Westchester, New York, where he teaches trumpet, classes, and an ensemble. He also leads master classes, clinics and workshops around the world, often bringing students to his gigs and allowing them to sit in, and has produced a number of CDs for up-and-coming musicians.
In July 2011, he played a tribute to Miles Davis at the Prague Castle, hosted by the Czech President, Václav Klaus, accompanied by Lenny White on drums, Jaroslav Jakubovič on baritone saxophone, Tom Barney on bass and Emil Viklický on piano.
Faddis is a Schilke Performing Artist, performing on the Schilke "Faddis" model trumpet. He has played Schilke instruments since 1970, encompassing nearly his entire career and complete discography.
For 2026 Grammy Awards, he received a nomination for the album The Original Influencers: Dizzy, Chano & Chico Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra in the Best Latin Jazz Album category.

Family and personal life

Faddis has been a resident of Teaneck, New Jersey.
Faddis is the uncle of Madlib and Oh No, acclaimed hip-hop producers.

Discography

As leader

With Peter Allen
  • Continental American
With Patti Austin
  • The Real Me
With George Benson
  • Body Talk
  • In Your Eyes
  • 20/20
  • Big Boss Band
With Anthony Braxton
  • Creative Orchestra Music 1976
With Rusty Bryant
  • Until It's Time for You to Go
With Kenny Burrell
  • Ellington Is Forever
With Michel Camilo
  • One More Once
With Ron Carter
  • Parade
  • Empire Jazz
With Eric Clapton
  • August
  • Journeyman
With Linda Clifford
With Hank Crawford
  • I Hear a Symphony
With Bo Diddley
  • Big Bad Bo
With Charles Earland
  • Intensity
  • Charles III
  • The Dynamite Brothers
  • Kharma
With Gil Evans
  • Live at the Public Theater
With Jerry Fielding
  • The Gauntlet
With Aretha Franklin
  • Love All the Hurt Away
  • Get It Right
With Michael Franks
  • Skin Dive
With Dizzy Gillespie
  • Dizzy Gillespie Jam
  • To Diz with Love
As Music Director for the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars
  • Dizzy's 80th Birthday Party
  • Dizzy's World
  • Things to Come
With Grant Green
  • The Main Attraction
  • Easy
With Groove Holmes
  • New Groove
With Milt Jackson
  • Bebop
With Mick Jagger
  • Primitive Cool
With Billy Joel
  • An Innocent Man
With the Thad Jones - Mel Lewis Big Band
  • Potpourri
  • Live in Munich
With Chaka Khan
  • Destiny
With Julian Lennon
  • Valotte
With O'Donel Levy
  • Dawn of a New Day
  • Simba
With Les McCann
  • Another Beginning
With Jack McDuff
  • The Fourth Dimension
With Jimmy McGriff
  • Red Beans
With Bette Midler
  • Thighs and Whispers
With Charles Mingus
  • Charles Mingus and Friends in Concert
  • Mingus at Carnegie Hall
With Mingus Dynasty
  • Live at the Theatre Boulogne-Billancourt/Paris, Vol. 1
  • Live at the Theatre Boulogne-Billancourt/Paris, Vol. 2
With Blue Mitchell
With David "Fathead" Newman
  • Scratch My Back
With Jimmy Owens
  • Headin' Home
With Jaco Pastorius
  • Invitation
With Oscar Peterson
  • Oscar Peterson & Jon Faddis
With Lou Reed
  • Sally Can't Dance
  • New Sensations
With Lalo Schifrin
With Don Sebesky
With Marlena Shaw
  • Take a Bite
With Carly Simon
  • Hello Big Man
With Paul Simon
  • Graceland
With Johnny "Hammond" Smith
  • The Prophet
  • Higher Ground
With Lonnie Liston Smith
  • Reflections of a Golden Dream
With Phoebe Snow
  • Against the Grain
With Leon Spencer
  • Where I'm Coming From
  • Something Real
With Candi Staton
  • Candi Staton
With Jeremy Steig
  • Firefly
With Gábor Szabó
  • Macho
With Charles Tolliver
  • Impact
With Tina Turner
  • Love Explosion
With Steve Turre
  • The Rhythm Within
With Stanley Turrentine
  • The Man with the Sad Face
  • Nightwings
With Frankie Valli
  • Closeup
With Cedar Walton
  • Beyond Mobius
With Randy Weston
  • Tanjah
With Gerald Wilson
  • New York, New Sound
  • In My Time
  • Monterey Moods
  • Detroit
With Tatsuro Yamashita
  • Circus Town
  • Pocket Music
  • ''Boku No Naka No Syounen''