Verified Global Musician

Vincent Herring

Vincent Herring is an alto and soprano saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator with deep ties to hard bop and soul jazz.

Alto saxophoneSoprano saxophoneComposerEducator2 current shows
Saved only on this device

Photo source · Photo: Professor Bop, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Career Overview

About Vincent Herring

Herring's official biography follows his path from school bands in California and the West Point band to New York, touring first with Lionel Hampton and then beginning a nine-year partnership with Nat Adderley. It also documents a recording and performing relationship with Cedar Walton that lasted more than two decades.[1]

His artist site presents a leader practice that joins the Vincent Herring Quartet with the soul-jazz septet Something Else! and a recurring co-led saxophone group with Eric Alexander. Education runs beside those ensembles through university teaching, clinics, and his 2024 improvisation method book.[1][2][4]

Ensembles and Career Threads

Bands & Projects

Leader and alto saxophonist

Something Else!

Herring spearheads a rotating seven-piece ensemble built around soul-jazz repertoire and new arrangements, with trumpet, tenor saxophone, guitar, piano, bass, and drums alongside his alto.[2][4]

Co-leader and alto saxophonist

The Battle with Eric Alexander

Herring and tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander developed a recurring two-saxophone collaboration that began with their 2005 SMOKE concerts and continued through Friendly Fire and Split Decision.[2][5]

Leader, saxophonist, and composer

Vincent Herring Quartet

The quartet is Herring's compact leader format; the official project page identifies piano, bass, and drums as the rhythm section around his saxophones.[2][1]

Selected, Not Exhaustive

Recordings to Know

2021 · Smoke Sessions Records

Preaching to the Choir

Leader and saxophonist

Herring leads a quartet with Cyrus Chestnut, Yasushi Nakamura, and Johnathan Blake through originals and arranged repertoire.[3]

Release details

Smoke Sessions Records

Soul Jazz

Something Else! leader and alto saxophonist

The Something Else! debut documents Herring's septet in music by Horace Silver, Herbie Hancock, Roy Hargrove, Donald Byrd, and other soul-jazz writers.[4]

Release details

2025 · Smoke Sessions Records

Split Decision

Co-leader and alto saxophonist with Eric Alexander

Recorded live at SMOKE, the third Alexander–Herring summit pairs the saxophonists with Mike LeDonne, John Webber, and Lewis Nash.[5]

Release details

Live Calendar

Upcoming Jazz DateBook Shows

Mon, Oct 12, 9:00 PM

Mike Ledonne Quartet

Smalls Jazz Club · New York

Show details

Mon, Oct 12, 10:30 PM

Mike Ledonne Quartet

Smalls Jazz Club · New York

Show details

Sources

Career copy is original synthesis from the artist, label, and project sources below. Current dates come from Jazz DateBook event inventory.

  1. [1] Official biography

    Vincent Herring

  2. [2] Official ensemble and project guide

    Vincent Herring

  3. [3] Preaching to the Choir release page

    Smoke Sessions Records

  4. [4] Soul Jazz release page

    Smoke Sessions Records

  5. [5] Split Decision release page

    Smoke Sessions Records