TICKETS are $15 General/$10 Student. End time is not set.

Everyday Magic is currently a sextet which features Rahsaan's twin brother, trombonist Roland Barber and trumpeter (and Chicago jazz icon) Pharez Whitted, along with a fantastic rhythm section.   

Rahsaan Barber - saxophone

Roland Barber - trombone

Pharez Witted - trumpet

Matt Endahl - piano

Kevin Beardsley - bass

James Sexton - drums

www.rjbsax.com

Video of band's performance of jazz legend John Coltrane's "Giant Steps"

Video of  band's performance of the original composition "Panic Point" from my latest double-album, Mosaic 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAsB7X1J--I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4omcP-li8k

Saxophonist Rahsaan Barber and the members of his sextet, Everyday Magic, have performed extensively throughout the nation since the celebrated 2011 release of the ensemble’s self-titled debut album, Everyday Magic. The album was the first of three albums produced by the saxophonist to earn recognition as an “Editor’s Pick” by Downbeat magazine. The band’s 2022 calendar featured performances at Live at Lucille’s (Knoxville), The Nashville Jazz Workshop, The Jazz Kitchen (Indianapolis), Middle C Jazz Club (Charlotte), Sharp Nine Jazz Gallery (Durham), Barking Legs Theater (Chattanooga), The City Winery (Nashville) and The Green Room at Crosstown (Memphis). In the dozen years of collaboration, the ensemble has  appeared at numerous festivals throughout the South, and has been a featured ensemble in the programming of regional educational institutions, most recently appearing as headliner of UNC-Wilmington’s 2018 JazzFest.

Bandleader and composer Rahsaan Barber has become a nationally celebrated performer and educator, making good on the expectations one could have of a saxophonist who debuted in Downbeat magazine’s Critics’ Poll for Rising Star Tenor Saxophonists nearly a decade ago, in August of 2013. Barber has become a sought-after bandleader, collaborator and educator, with recent performances at Carnegie Hall, the Schermerhorn Symphony Center and The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, alongside such musicians as Branford Marsalis, Tito Puente, Jr., Brian Blade, and Victor Wooten. In March of 2023, Barber completed his doctoral (DMA) studies at the University of Memphis, while completing his third year as Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies and Saxophone at The University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Educational pursuits have not served as distractions to Barber’s commitment to jazz performance at the highest levels, but, rather, have strengthened both his artistic acumen and the community of artistic colleagues in his orbit. Chief collaborators amongst these artists are the members of Everyday Magic, starting with Rahsaan’s lifelong collaborator and twin brother, trombonist Roland Barber, whose resume includes performances with Jazz at Lincoln Center, Stefon Harris, Aretha Franklin and Chaka Khan. The newest member of Everyday Magic is dynamic trumpeter/educator Pharez Whitted, noted Jazz Director of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and widely regarded as one of the most powerful and prolific trumpeters of his generation. The band’s rhythm section is led by Rahsaan’s long-time collaborator, pianist (and protege of Geri Allen) Matt Endahl. Drummer James Sexton and bassist Kevin Beardsley round out the rhythm section, contributing a musicality and versatility that allows the band to draw on influences and inspirations ranging from ancient tribal conceptions to modern idioms which span the globe in origin.

Rahsaan Barber has set out on a singular path of musical excellence in performance, composition, education, and entrepreneurship. In addition to working as a professor at The University of North Carolina since 2020, Rahsaan enjoys a performance career that encompasses an ever-expanding range of musical styles, including jazz, blues, funk, classical, fusion, soul, Latin, and world music. Rahsaan’s passionate, sincere, and studious approach to music-making has garnered professional appearances onstage alongside such heavyweights as Christian McBride, Brian Blade, the Temptations, Delfeayo Marsalis, the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Duffy Jackson, Winard Harper, Kirk Franklin, Meghan Trainor and the Wooten Brothers. The saxophonist has performed on many of the world’s most prestigious stages for music including The Ryman, The Village Vanguard, Birdland, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Montreux Jazz Festival, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Rahsaan joined the ranks of the nation’s rising jazz stars both as the leader of his own quintet, Everyday Magic, and as co-leader of the groundbreaking Nashville-based Latin-jazz septet El Movimiento. 

Rahsaan has entered the ranks of the nation’s premier jazz artists following several celebrated releases, most recently including “Mosaic,” a double-disc collection of original works released in April of 2021, featuring trumpeter Nathan Warner and trombonist Roland Barber, Rahsaan’s twin brother. Prior to the release of “Mosaic,” Barber received critical acclaim for “The Music In The Night” (2017) and “Everyday Magic,” (2011) both released on the saxophonist’s record label, Jazz Music City, which he founded to showcase his hometown’s (Nashville, TN) diverse and impressive musical talent.  In addition to his own jazz outfits, the saxophonist founded The Nashville Salsa Machine in 2016, a twelve-member ensemble featuring Music City’s most celebrated Latin music performers. Barber is also an in-demand saxophonist for recording sessions and touring work, most recently completing a year-long tour with pop icon Kelly Clarkson and multiple tours with Lauren Daigle. 

Barber has taught extensively at the collegiate level for well over a decade, including six years of instruction at Belmont University, where he began his collegiate teaching career as instructor jazz and classical saxophone, jazz ensembles, and commercial music styles at the age of twenty-five. Barber has given masterclasses and concerts at numerous colleges and universities, including the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, the University of Memphis, Lipscomb University, UNC-Pembroke, UNC-Wilmington, Indiana University, The University of Wisconsin (OshKosh), the University of Evansville, and many more. In addition, Rahsaan has served as Vice-President of the Tennessee Jazz and Blues Society and as a board member for the Nashville Jazz Workshop’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion panel.

Concerts and events made possible, in part, with support from the Wells Fargo Philanthropic Services Private Trust Foundations, which include grants from the Stanley A. and Flora P. Clark Memorial Community Trust Foundation (2020-2021; 2022-2023 seasons), the John, Anna, and Martha Jane Fields Memorial Trust Foundation (2021-2022; 2022-2023 seasons), and the Florence V. Carroll Charitable Trust (2021-2022; 2022-2023 season). Special concert event support provided by the Arts Midwest Grow, Invest, Gather (GIG) Fund grant (2022-2023 season). Activities are made possible in part by the Arts Organization Support (AOS), Indiana Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency (2023-2024 season).

Concerts and events made possible, in part, with support from The Esther and George Jaruga Charitable Foundation (2020-2023 seasons).

The Student and Home Grown Series concerts made possible, in part, with support from the ArtsEverywhere Grant from the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County, and the Arts Project Support Grant and the Arts Recovery Grant through the Indiana Arts Commission.