Since earning a Master's Degree in Jazz Performance from the Manhattan School of Music in 2005, Rahsaan Barber has set out on a singular path of musical excellence in performance, composition, education, and entrepreneurship. Residing proudly in his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, Rahsaan enjoys a career that encompasses performing and recording in an ever-expanding range of musical styles, including jazz, blues, funk, classical, fusion, soul, Latin, and world music.
Rahsaan's passionate, sincere, and studious approach to music-making has garnered professional appearances onstage with heavyweights including the Temptations, Delfeayo Marsalis, the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Duffy Jackson, Winard Harper, Kirk Franklin, and the Wooten Brothers. The saxophonist has performed on many of the world’s most prestigious stages for music, including The Ryman, The Village Vanguard, Birdland, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and the Montreux Jazz Festival. Rahsaan has joined the ranks of the nation’s rising jazz stars as the leader of his own instrumental band, Everyday Magic; co-leader of Latin-jazz septet El Movimiento; and the creator, bandleader, songwriter, and producer of emerging hip-hop, soul band The Megaphones. In addition, he has built a reputation as a standout jazz producer with the founding of his record label, Jazz Music City, in August of 2011. The label launched with the release of Everyday Magic, an album featuring Rahsaan’s Nashville-based quintet. The album was awarded the rare honor of Editor’s Pick by DownBeat Magazine, along with receiving high praise from both critics and audiences. Since the release of Everyday Magic, Rahsaan has become an in-demand producer for Nashville’s rising jazz artists, including singer/songwriter Stephanie Adlington and trumpeter Imer Santiago.
Rahsaan is also an accomplished music educator. In August of 2005, at the young age of 25, he was hired by Belmont University to teach at the celebrated music school’s saxophone studio. Promoted to full-time instructor for the last three years of his six years at Belmont, Rahsaan taught a wide array of courses, including private lessons, improvisation, classical and commercial ensembles, and performance seminars. In 2013, he was hired by Tennessee State University to teach private saxophone lessons. While focusing his energies towards musical performance and composition, as well as the management of his record label, Jazz Music City, Rahsaan remains a sought-after private instructor and clinician at the collegiate and professional level. He has presented master classes for students at numerous educational institutions, including Michigan State University, Belmont University, Lipscomb University, the Nashville Jazz Workshop, Tennessee State University, the University of Louisville, the University of Memphis, and the University of North Carolina.
Rahsaan is a Yamaha Performing Artist and proudly endorses Yamaha saxophones. He is also quite active in the greater jazz community of Music City, serving as the Vice-President of the Tennessee Jazz and Blues Society and a board member of the Nashville Jazz Workshop, as well as volunteering for Fisk University’s radio station, WFSK, as host of the radio-show “Generations In Jazz”.
Rahsaan's passionate, sincere, and studious approach to music-making has garnered professional appearances onstage with heavyweights including the Temptations, Delfeayo Marsalis, the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Duffy Jackson, Winard Harper, Kirk Franklin, and the Wooten Brothers. The saxophonist has performed on many of the world’s most prestigious stages for music, including The Ryman, The Village Vanguard, Birdland, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and the Montreux Jazz Festival. Rahsaan has joined the ranks of the nation’s rising jazz stars as the leader of his own instrumental band, Everyday Magic; co-leader of Latin-jazz septet El Movimiento; and the creator, bandleader, songwriter, and producer of emerging hip-hop, soul band The Megaphones. In addition, he has built a reputation as a standout jazz producer with the founding of his record label, Jazz Music City, in August of 2011. The label launched with the release of Everyday Magic, an album featuring Rahsaan’s Nashville-based quintet. The album was awarded the rare honor of Editor’s Pick by DownBeat Magazine, along with receiving high praise from both critics and audiences. Since the release of Everyday Magic, Rahsaan has become an in-demand producer for Nashville’s rising jazz artists, including singer/songwriter Stephanie Adlington and trumpeter Imer Santiago.
Rahsaan is also an accomplished music educator. In August of 2005, at the young age of 25, he was hired by Belmont University to teach at the celebrated music school’s saxophone studio. Promoted to full-time instructor for the last three years of his six years at Belmont, Rahsaan taught a wide array of courses, including private lessons, improvisation, classical and commercial ensembles, and performance seminars. In 2013, he was hired by Tennessee State University to teach private saxophone lessons. While focusing his energies towards musical performance and composition, as well as the management of his record label, Jazz Music City, Rahsaan remains a sought-after private instructor and clinician at the collegiate and professional level. He has presented master classes for students at numerous educational institutions, including Michigan State University, Belmont University, Lipscomb University, the Nashville Jazz Workshop, Tennessee State University, the University of Louisville, the University of Memphis, and the University of North Carolina.
Rahsaan is a Yamaha Performing Artist and proudly endorses Yamaha saxophones. He is also quite active in the greater jazz community of Music City, serving as the Vice-President of the Tennessee Jazz and Blues Society and a board member of the Nashville Jazz Workshop, as well as volunteering for Fisk University’s radio station, WFSK, as host of the radio-show “Generations In Jazz”.