Dylan Cramer

Dylan Cramer (born January 21, 1958, in North Vancouver, British Columbia), is a Canadian alto saxophonist, jazz musician and author.

Career

Cramer took up the saxophone at age 13, after the sudden suicidal death of his father. Four years later in 1975, Cramer heard a recording of alto sax legend Sonny Criss and was so taken with Sonny's playing that, in 1977, he travelled from Canada to Los Angeles to study with him. Cramer met Criss and developed a very close relationship with him over eight months until Sonny, diagnosed with stomach cancer, committed suicide. Extremely distraught over Sonny's death, Cramer was recommended by Dick Grove to study privately with LA studio musician Phil Sobel. Cramer worked with Sobel from 1978 until Sobel's death in 2008, and credits Sobel with "saving my life."

In 1997, 20 years after Sonny's death, Cramer decided to do an album in his honour. For that recording, first released as The First One in 1998, he hired jazz legend and friend of Sonny, Leroy Vinnegar, on bass. In 2011, Nagel-Heyer Records from Hamburg released the tribute album "Remembering Sonny Criss." [citation needed]

In 2001, Cramer released a classic jazz album, "All Night Long." In 2003, Cramer recorded his third album, "Bumpin' On Sunset," which continued Cramer's interpretations of movie themes, latin tunes, and bluesy ballads. 2009 marked the release of Cramer's fourth album, "Alto," released on his own record label, Casa Records. In 2017, Cramer released his fifth album, "Blue Prelude," with longtime musical associate and pianist Ron Johnston, on Casa Records. The album features two songs from George Michael, one from Michael McDonald and another from Stevie Wonder, along with the Amy Winehouse hit, "Back To Black."[better source needed]

In 2019, Cramer published his first book, "Alto Saxophone Mastery," followed three years later by "Chasing My Father," "Flute Artistry" in 2025 and "Cold Spaghetti" in 2026.

Discography

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 3 Wong, Chris (19 January 2024). "5. Father and Son: Barry and Dylan Cramer". Journeys to the Bandstand: Thirty Jazz Lives in Vancouver. FriesenPress. pp. 79–97. ISBN 9781039161603. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Truffaut, Serge (July 8, 1998). "Un incontournable quasi-inconnu". Le Devoir. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. p. 3. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  3. ↑ Cramer, Dylan. "Dylan Cramer". pp. 1–28.
  4. ↑ Truffaut, Serge (August 28, 1999). "La beauté de la surprise". Le Devoir. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. p. 37. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  5. ↑ Andrews, Marke (June 27, 1998). "Dylan Cramer Quartet. The First One". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. p. 64. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  6. ↑ McLennan, Ross (January 16, 1998). "Jazz: Dylan Cramer, The First One". The Winnipeg Sun. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. p. 40. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  7. ↑ Nathan, Dave. "All Night Long Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  8. ↑ Franklin, David (June 1, 2002). "Dylan Cramer: All Night Long". Jazz Times. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  9. ↑ Bailey, C. Michael (January 1, 2000). "Dylan Cramer: All Night Long". AllAboutJazz. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  10. ↑ Schwab, Jürgen (1 September 2007). "All Night Long - Dylan Cramer". Rondo: Das Klassik- & Jazz-Magazin (in German). Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  11. ↑ "Dylan Cramer, All Night Long". The Observer. London, England. December 9, 2001. p. 86. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  12. ↑ Chapman, Geoff (September 25, 1999). "Vancouver saxman delivers passion". The Toronto Star. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. p. 165. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  13. ↑ Kerr, Alison (3 February 2002). "Jazz. Dylan Cramer: All Night Long". Scotland on Sunday. Edinburgh, Scotland. p. 157. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  14. ↑ Yanow, Scott. "Bumpin' on Sunset Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  15. ↑ Clark, Jim (November 14, 2003). "Top 10 jazz". Rapid City Journal. Rapid City, South Dakota. p. 38. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  16. ↑ Massarik, Jack. "Dylan Cramer: Remembering Sonny Criss". jazzwise. Retrieved 26 April 2025.