Walt Weiskopf

Walt Weiskopf
Walt Weiskopf performing on stage
Background information
Birth name	Walter Weiskopf
Born	(1959-07-30)July 30, 1959 Augusta, Georgia, USA
Genres	Avant-garde jazz, hard bop, post-bop, modal jazz, free jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer, author
Instruments	Tenor, soprano, and alto saxophone, clarinet
Years active	1981–present
Website	WaltWeiskopf.com

Walt Weiskopf (born July 30, 1959 in Augusta, Georgia) is an American jazz saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, author, and educator. He has released 16 CDs as a leader and performed on countless other albums as a sideman, having worked with artists such as Buddy Rich, Frank Sinatra, and Steely Dan. Author and journalist Cicily Janus regards Weiskopf as "one of the best unknown musicians in the modern scene", and JazzTimes Magazine considers him to be underrated and "a highly potent tenor saxophonist who demonstrates a strong Trane-Rollins influence".

Weiskopf was born in Augusta, Georgia and grew up outside of Syracuse, New York. He took up his first instrument, the clarinet, at age 10 and began his saxophone studies four years later. He studied at the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester from 1977–80. After earning his BA in Music Performance he moved to New York City in September 1980.

Weiskopf began his New York career performing with the Buddy Rich Big Band in 1981 at the age of 21, and began a 14-year stint with the Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band two years later. Since then he has released 16 recordings as a leader, and holds numerous credits as a sideman.

It was 1988 when Weiskopf decided to attend Queens College of the City of New York, where he spent 2 years studying with clarinetist Leon Russianoff, later earning a Master of Arts degree in clarinet performance. Over the next two decades he went on to perform with a number of notable orchestras including the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra, the American Composers Orchestra, and the Gotham Chamber Orchestra.