Tim Warfield, Jr., is a York, Pennsylvania native who began learning the alto saxophone when he was nine years old. In his first year at William Penn Sr. high school, he switched to the tenor saxophone. He won many jazz soloist awards and was second among forty competitors at Montreal Festival of Music in Canada. Warfield went to Howard University in Washington, D.C., for two years after high school. He then moved on to Baltimore/Washington, where he continued his education. He was selected to join Marlon Jordan’s Quintet, a CBS/Sony recording artist and trumpeter. He was chosen to record Tough Young Tenors for the Island/Antilles label in 1991, which was listed among the top ten records of the year by The New York Times. He was also a member of Jazz Futures, which is a group that tours the globe to promote some of the brightest young jazz stars. Warfield also placed third in the 1991 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Warfield has appeared on several television shows, including Bill Cosby’s You Bet Your Life, Ted Turner’s 1998 Trumpet Awards, and Bill Cosby’s Today Show. He has also performed on stage with many other artists, including Marlon Jordan and James Williams, Marlon, Marcus Miller, Christian McBride. He joined Christian McBride, the Verve recording artist, in 1994. He remained with them until 1999. A Cool Blue, Warfield’s debut recording, was voted one of the top ten records of 1995 by the New York Times critics. His 1998 album Gentle Warrior, featuring Cyrus Chestnut and Tarus Mateen, Clarence Penn and Terell Stafford, was also voted the best recording of the year. This made him the most powerful tenor jazzophonist of his generation. He was named “Talent Deserving Greater Recognition” by DownBeat Magazine’s 49th Annual Jazz Critic’s Poll in 1999. Warfield, along with Loston Harris, performed at the MTV GQ Men of the Year Awards, New York City, in 2000. Warfield toured and recorded with Nicholas Payton, a Warner Bros. recording artist and New Orleans trumpeter in the fall 1999. Warfield was joined by Terell Stafford, Maxjazz recording artist and trumpeter. Warfield has been featured on many GRAMMY-nominated recordings, including Stefon Harris’ “The Grand Unification Theory” as well as “Dear Louis” and “Sonic Trance” both recorded under the direction of Nicholas Payton. Tim is currently serving as a board member for the Central Pennsylvania Friends of Jazz as well as an artist-in-residence at Messiah College in Grantham , Pa. from http://www.messiah.edu
