ART LILLARD
Genres: Swing, Hard Bop, Big Band • United States

Composer, arranger, bandleader, lyricist, and drummer Art Lillard leads The Heavenly Band, Blue Heaven, the Art Lillard Trio, the 9th Street Stompers, Three Corners Trio, Comfort Zone Trio, and the On Time Band. He grew up in Miami, where his jazz roots include playing with the great master Ira Sullivan and studying with pianist/composer Wally Cirillo. Art also studied at Karl Berger’s Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, New York. Subsequently, he graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston with a bachelor’s degree in composition and arranging, having garnered multiple scholarships and honors along the way. Art has also studied with Greg Hopkins, Mike Gibbs, Paul Caputo, Tom Boras, Kenny Werner, Portinho, Maria Schneider, Mike Holober, and Jim McNeely. Art’s nine-horn Heavenly Band has been playing in clubs and concert spaces since 1987. Their compact disk, “Reasons to be Thankful,” was released on the Summit Records label in 2006. For video of read more...