Biography

With a controlled yet impassioned approach to improvisation, rooted in both the jazz tradition and contemporary sounds, 19 year old saxophonist Nate Spratford brings together past, present, and future in his playing,

Born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Nate’s musical journey began as a classically trained pianist. He picked up the saxophone at age 10, becoming a serious student of the music many years later, after falling in love with the sound of Johnny Hodges and the ideas of John Coltrane.

Nate relocated to Nashville in 2023 to study at Vanderbilt University. He quickly turned heads in the city’s close-knit jazz scene as an empowered improviser and creative artist. Nate has played at Nasvhille venues such as City Winery, Americano Lounge, Rudy’s Jazz Room, Honeytree Meadery, SoHo House, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and Analog at Hutton Hotel. Through Vanderbilt, he has brushed paths with jazz luminaries such as Wadada Leo Smith, Jonathan Barber, John Fedchock, and Sean Jones. Additionally, Vanderbilt and the US Department of State partnered to send him on a jazz educational/performance tour of Colombia in June of 2024. Nate has performed with Jeff Coffin, Jeff Bradshaw, and Ari Hoenig. He has studied primarily with Coffin and Chicago saxophonist Nate Lepine, while also receiving instruction from Lenard Simpson, Geof Bradfield, former Miles Davis band saxophonist Bill Evans, and NEA Jazz Master George Coleman.

Nate hopes to continue to grow as an artist, performer, composer, and working musician, while building strong relationships within the jazz community, both in Nasvhille and beyond. An avid academic, Nate has taken part in jazz archival research, working directly with the archives of legendary jazz radio broadcaster Phil Schaap. Nate is also passionate about current and historical events, primarily the innumerable ways in which jazz music and American history have influenced each other.