John Slate is a no nonsense, no frills, straight ahead hard bopper. He has established himself as a must hear player through his CDs and appearances in the states and abroad.

Besides touring with his own highly regarded quartet, John has performed with the Buddy Rich Orchestra, the Woody Herman Orchestra, the Ray Charles Orchestra, Manhattan Transfer, and played for many shows such as the Temptations, the OJs, Shirley Jones, Helen O’Connell, Johnny Mathis, and Gloria Loring.

John graduated from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts and completed a master’s degree at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

He has been in great demand as a teacher for the last thirty years and has taught in both public schools near Pittsburgh and also at the college level. Prior to moving to Charleston, SC in July 2000, he was an adjunct professor of saxophone and jazz improvisation at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Many of John’s students are now in graduate and undergraduate music programs around the country, and playing in some of the top professional groups in the music industry today.

While in New York, John recorded three CDs with recording engineer Peter Hopper, pictured with John at left. Standard Persona is The John Slate Quartet's debut CD, which has been featured by Tony Mowod during his jazz program for National Public Radio. The second CD, The John Slate Quartet LIVE!, is a concert performance from the campus of Cornell University. Happy Our is John's most recent CD, which consists of duo and trio work with pianist Molly MacMillan and bassist Peter Chwazik.