About Me
Noah Kaplan is an American saxophonist, improviser and composer. His playing has been described as “Formidable†(All About Jazz) and “Meditative and elegiac . . . it communicates a wild tenderness†(All About Jazz, New York). Born in 1984, Noah grew up in Topanga Canyon, CA. As a teenager, he played professionally throughout Los Angeles. In 2002, he moved to Boston to study Jazz at the New England Conservatory with saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi. There he met Joe Maneri and became his last private student (2003-2009). What began as improvisation lessons soon expanded to include harmony, counterpoint, fugue and composition using Arnold Schoenberg’s texts. After excelling in Maneri’s renowned Microtonal Theory and Composition course at NEC, Noah spent three years as the assistant teacher and later substitute teacher for the course. In 2005, he received the Jonathon Keith Foundation Scholarship for his work with microtones. That same year, Noah was a member of the NEC Honors Jazz Quartet Miwokido Kid, in which he created a unique style that blended microtonality with modern jazz. In 2007, after graduating NEC with Honors, Noah founded and directed PLAY!, a series of improvised music concerts presented by the Boston Microtonal Society. The following year he appeared on The Light and Other Things with bassist Giacomo Merega and slide guitar icon David Tronzo which was released to critical acclaim. Noah’s debut recording, Descendants, featuring guitarist Joe Morris, will be released on HatHut Records in early 2010. Noah maintains an active performance schedule and has performed and/or recorded with Joe Morris, Peter Erskine, Alan Pasqua, Joe Maneri, David Tronzo, Daniel Levin, Judith Berkson, Kirk Knuffke, Mauro Pagani and Marco Cappelli among others. Noah lives in Brooklyn, New York.
