Derrick Gardner

A native of Chicago, trumpeter Derrick Gardner came to Winnipeg in 2011 to accept the Babs Asper Chair in Jazz Performance at the University of Manitoba. He continues to be a sought-after soloist with an international touring career, and continues to front his own band, the Jazz Prophets. He has performed with jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie, George Benson, and Nancy Wilson, as well as in several of the top jazz orchestras, including the Count Basie Orchestra and Harry Connick Jr’s Big Band. His compositions and soulful improvisation are at the core of a new recording, Compared to What, releasing in October.