Marion Meadows is a smooth jazz soprano saxophonist, born in West Virginia but raised in Stamford, CT. At age nine, he started studying classical music and playing clarinet, moving to tenor sax and eventually soprano sax. He attended Berklee College of Music as a major in arranging and composition, later enrolled in SUNY Purchase School for the Arts, and received his doctorate in music from Wilberforce University about three years ago.
Early on, Meadows became a well known sideman as he connected with a variety of prominent artists, recording and performing with Brook Benton, Chuck Loeb, Eartha Kitt, The Temptations, Michael Bolton, Jean Carne and many others. He signed a recording contract with Novus Records in 1990, which sparked his solo career. Meadows worked to become a staple of the contemporary jazz format as a prolific artist, steadily releasing over twelve albums in the past two decades.
Professional guitarist Rohn Lawrence’s goal is to kindle joy and share the feeling of fun on stage and in the studio. A New Haven native, Lawrence was practically born playing guitar; a plastic Mickey Mouse guitar was his first instrument at two-and-a-half years old. He began building guitars before he turned nine, got his first Stratocaster at age eleven and switched to electric guitar exclusively within a few years.
Lawrence developed his reputation playing in New Haven funk bands, becoming a go-to guitarist for many active contemporary musicians. He continuously performs with Marion Meadows and also with notable artists including Najee, Freddie Jackson, Diane Reeves and Jonathan Butler. Lawrence has contributed to well over fifty albums since the start of his career, including Meadows’ 2018 release, Soul City.
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