Keith Javors Biography

Never compromising a strong dedication to excellence, critically-acclaimed artist, producer, educator, and entrepreneur Dr. Keith Javors has seen success in nearly every facet of the modern music industry. From his unmatched multiple, consecutive Downbeat magazine awards as a teacher and bandleader to the cutting edge leadership behind his global imprint Inarhyme Records to his natural aptitudes as a profound and soulful player and composer, Javors does it all, and he does it all at an undisputedly high level. Not by his own admittance, Review says “It takes a musician’s true artistic love and commitment to the art to really peer through his or her music to find this type of end.”

Keith is President and CEO of the Inarhyme Music Group, LLC, home of Inarhyme Records, a top- shelf Indie and music production company which produces critically-acclaimed, cutting-edge releases and collaborations throughout North America and abroad. The label has garnished consistent media praise by top periodicals ranging from Downbeat and Jazz Times to the Chicago Tribune for its high quality. Inarhyme’s releases feature such leading artists as the Hamburg Jazz Radio Orchestra, Tom Harrell, Boris Kozlov, Chris Potter, Terell Stafford, E.J. Strickland, Ben Williams, Steve Wilson, and many others. In addition to their range of 360-degree music industry services, the Inarhyme Music Group has a strong philanthropic underpinning as well, assisting in providing pro bono instruments and instruction to individuals and groups, from elementary schools to prisons.

Described by alto saxophonist and Jazz Hall of Famer Bunky Green as a “creative force with an urgent message that cannot be denied”, Keith is a riveting player and live performer, visceral and communicative in his ballad playing, and transformative of audiences and bands with his creativity and dynamic sensibilities. He can be heard on several emotive recordings as a leader: Mantra, From Here To The Street, Mo’ City Jungle, The Free Project, Coming Together, Rhyme and Reason, and On the Bright Side with the American Music Project. His 2016 project, entitled The Meeting, is with Russian saxophonist Oleg Kireyev and features jazz luminaries Tom Harrell, Ben Williams, and E.J. Strickland. One jazz connoisseur in Moscow summed it up like this: “There are many musicians who play brilliantly from their head, but Keith is rare in that he comes straight from the heart.”

Over the years, Keith’s ensembles have performed at major festivals, clubs, and performance spaces around the globe: The Rockefeller Center, the International House of Music in Moscow, Jubilee Festival at Piwnica pod Baranami, North Sea Jazz Festival, Yaroslavl Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Vienne Jazz Festival, numerous International Association for Jazz Education Conferences, the Midwest Clinic; Blues Alley, Smalls, the Jazz Showcase, Chris' Jazz Café, Union of Composers Club, Smoke, the Iridium, Caravan of Dreams, and many others. He has worked in collaboration with a literal who’s who of leading artists including Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, Terence Blanchard, Dave Brubeck, George Coleman, Kenny Garrett, Slide Hampton, the Heath Brothers, Eddie Henderson, Dave Holland, Pat Martino, Gerry Mulligan, Eddie Palmieri, Chris Potter, Sam Rivers, Maria Schneider, and Clark Terry, to name a few.

Dr. Javors is rare in the degree of his success not only as a producer and artist, but equally as a charismatic, award-winning music educator, speaker, and industry consultant. A distinguished graduate of the University of North (B.M., M.M. Jazz Studies) and the first graduate of the

P.O. Box 22126, Philadelphia, PA 19136 (800) 453-3034 www.inarhyme.com

University of Illinois Jazz Pedagogy program (Ed.D. Music Education), he has held successful teaching positions at UNT, UIUC, Eastern Illinois University, the University of North Florida, and the Settlement Music School. His past students have won Grammys, occupy positions in major symphonies and jazz orchestras, lead as esteemed administrators and college professors, or are successful working professionals in a host of other fields. A gifted diagnostician, Javors is highly- sought after as a guest artist and clinician for schools, groups, and organizations throughout the and abroad because of his ability to achieve real and instantaneous results. Jazz Times says "The degree of hard work, patience, study, blood, sweat and tears necessary to produce a band of this quality is phenomenal."

With several new projects on the horizon, Keith continues to push the artistic envelope with surprising and refreshing results. Jazz Journalist Russ Musto (AllAboutJazz) probably said it best: “Keith is one who certainly can and does, traveling a high road that steers clear of the Ivory Towers and chooses instead more interesting places.”

For more information on Dr. Keith Javors, visit www.keithjavors.com and www.inarhyme.com.

P.O. Box 22126, Philadelphia, PA 19136 (800) 453-3034 www.inarhyme.com