Biography

Abraham Burton (born 17 March 1971, New York City) is an American saxophonist (tenor and alto) and bandleader. He is a featured performer on the 2011 Grammy Award winning album Mingus Big Band Live at Jazz Standard. A graduate of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and the Hartt School, Burton's teachers included Michael Carvin, Justin DiCioccio, and Jackie McLean. While attending the Hartt School he performed with the Collective Expression Band. In 2013 he was awarded the Ralph Bunche fellowship for post-graduate studies in music education at Rutgers University. During the early 1990s he played with Nat Reeves' band, and from 1991-1995 he performed with Art Taylor’s Wailers.In 1994 Burton formed his own band, Forbidden Fruit, whose members at various times included pianists Marc Cary, Allan Palmer, and James Hurt, the double bass players Billy Johnson and Yosuke Inoue, and the drummer Eric McPherson. With that band he toured internationally and recorded several albums. He has also performed in ensembles led by Louis Hayes, Ali Jackson, and Santi DeBriano.