Robert Alan Mintzer was born on January 27, 1953. He is an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader.

Early life

Mintzer was born and grew up in a Jewish family in New Rochelle, New York, on January 27, 1953. He attended the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan from 1969 to 1970. After that, he studied at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut, for two years. Later, he attended the Manhattan School of Music from 1972 to 1974.

Later life and career

At the start of his career, Mintzer played in several large bands, including those led by Buddy Rich (1975–77), Thad Jones and Mel Lewis (1977–79), and Sam Jones (1978–80). While working with Buddy Rich, he began writing music for large bands. Since then, he has created and arranged hundreds of musical pieces. In 2008, Mintzer and his family moved to Los Angeles, where he became part of the teaching staff at the University of Southern California.

He is a member of the Grammy award-winning group Yellowjackets and holds a special position called the Buzz McCoy endowed chair of jazz studies at the University of Southern California.

In 2014, he started sharing the role of Chief Conductor of the WDR Big Band in Cologne, Germany, with Vince Mendoza.

Discography

• Source (Agharta, 1982)
• Horn Man (Agharta, 1982)
• Papa Lips (Eastworld, 1983)
• Incredible Journey (DMP, 1985)
• Camouflage (DMP, 1986)
• Spectrum (DMP, 1988)
• Urban Contours (DMP, 1989)
• Hymn (Owl, 1991) – recorded in 1990
• Art of the Big Band (DMP, 1991)
• I Remember Jaco (Novus, 1992)
• One Music (DMP, 1991)
• Departure (DMP, 1993)
• Only in New York (DMP, 1994)
• Twin Tenors (Novus, 1994)
• The First Decade (DMP, 1995)
• Big Band Trane (DMP, 1996)
• Live at the Berlin Jazz Festival (Basic, 1996) – recorded in 1987
• Latin from Manhattan (DMP, 1998)
• Quality Time (TVT, 1998)
• Homage to Count Basie (DMP, 2000)
• Bop Boy (Explore, 2002)
• Gently (DMP, 2002)
• Live at MCG with Special Guest Kurt Elling (MCG Jazz, 2004)
• Hymn (Mesa, Blue Moon, Owl, Universal, 1992, 2006)
• Old School: New Lessons featuring Kurt Elling (Telarc/MCG Jazz, 2006)
• Longing (EmArcy, Owl, Universal, Sunnyside, 2003, 2006, 2007)
• In the Moment (Art of Life, 2007)
• Universal Syncopations, Vol. 2 (ECM, 2007)
• Swing Out (Telarc/MCG Jazz, 2008)
• La Vita e Bella (Abeat, 2009)
• Canyon Cove (2010)
• The Hudson Project (Concord Midline/Stretch/Universal, 2011)
• For the Moment (MCG Jazz, 2012)
• Get Up (MCG Jazz, 2015)
• All L.A. Band (Fuzzy, 2016)
• Meeting of Minds with New York Voices (MCG Jazz, 2018)

With Peter Erskine, Darek Oleszkiewicz, Alan Pasqua

• Standards 2: Movie Music (Fuzzy Music, 2010)

• Greenhouse (MCA, 1991)
• Live Wires (GRP, 1992) – live
• Like a River (GRP, 1993)
• Runferyerlife (GRP, 1994)
• Collection (1995)
• Dreamland (Warner Bros., 1995)
• Blue Hats (Warner Bros., 1997)
• Club Nocturne (Warner Bros., 1998)
• Priceless Jazz Collection (1998)
• The Best of Yellowjackets (1999)
• Mint Jam (2002)
• Time Squared (2003)
• Peace Round (2003)
• Altered State (2005)
• Twenty Five (2006)
• Lifecyle featuring Mike Stern (2008)
• Timeline (2011)
• A Rise in the Road (2013)
• Cohearance (2016)
• Raising Our Voice featuring Luciana Souza (2018)

The GRP All-Star Big Band

• GRP All Star Big Band: GRP All-Star Big Band (GRP, 1992)
• GRP All-Star Big Band: Dave Grusin Presents GRP All-Star Big Band Live! (GRP, 1993)
• GRP All-Star Big Band: All Blues (GRP, 1995)

• Buddy Rich, Buddy Rich (PolJazz, 1977) – live
• Sam Jones, Something New (Interplay, 1979)
• Jaco Pastorius, Invitation (Warner Bros., 1983) – recorded in 1982
• Bobby McFerrin, Bang!Zoom (Blue Note, 1995)
• Nova Bossa Nova, Jazz Influence (Arkadia Jazz, 1997)
• Toninho Horta, From Ton to Tom (Video Arts Music, 1998)
• Miroslav Vitouš, Universal Syncopations II (ECM, 2007) – recorded in 2004–05
• New York Voices, A Day Like This (MCG Jazz, 2007)
• The Sean J. Kennedy Quartet, Queen Anne's Revenge (Lost World, 2007)