JONNY TARR
Jonny Tarr wasn’t going to stay in Wales forever. Something about California always called to him, and sure enough, he made his way there. The saxophone came first, at the age of 11, and yeah, maybe he picked it up thinking it might make him stand out. But it did more than that—it hooked him. Jazz was the gateway, a ticket into understanding music in a way most people never do.
His journey took him to Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts, a place where you either learn to swim or you sink. Jonny swam, and after graduation, he toured all over the place—Europe, the US, Japan. He hit just about every festival that mattered and opened for names like Goldie, The Egg, and Gil Scott Heron. But Jonny wasn’t done. Not even close.
Ever the innovator, Jonny became one of the first in Europe to fuse the saxophone with house music, playing alongside DJs and making it all about the groove. But the sax wasn’t enough. He wanted more. So he picked up the guitar and piano, piecing together his own sound, his own show, where he could bring all his skills to the table.
Now, in the US, Jonny calls himself a singer-songwriter, but that’s just the start of it. With his band, the Jonny Tarr Quintet, he’s torn up stages, opening for icons like The Victor Wooten Trio, Ozomatli, and The Family Stone. He’s jammed with legends like Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top and worked with Mario Caldato Jr., the man behind the Beastie Boys. And hell, he even toured with Foreigner on their Cold As Ice tour in 2019 as part of The Pink Floyd Experience.
Jonny Tarr isn’t just a musician. He’s a guy who figured out how to turn a sax into a full-body experience, who found a way to make you feel it, every note, every beat, deep in your bones.
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