East River Saxophone Quartet

The East River Saxophone Quartet is a newly formed jazz and classical chamber ensemble based in the NYC area. They started playing together in January 2023. 

Soprano Saxophonist, Casey Howard, has been performing out of NYC for 23 years and has performed at many venues in NYC including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Town Hall, as well as major jazz festivals such as the Montreal Jazz Festival, Rome Jazz Festival, and Glastonbury. He has shared the stage with Isaac Hayes, the Funky Meters, Seun Kuti, Roy Ayers, and was music director for performances by Richie Ray, Pete Rodriguez, and Kokolo. He has MD’d more than a dozen label released albums.

Alto Saxophonist, Will Hotaling, emphasizes both versatility on multiple woodwinds; and involvement in multiple musical environments transcending genre and discipline. Will has been an active performer and educator for over 15 years, having studied under Dr. Christopher Creviston (The Capitol Quartet, Prince), Gary Smulyan, Eric Alexander, and David Dejesus (Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra). Both as a collaborative artist and sideman, Will has performed with a variety of award winning and viral artists including Living Color frontman Corey Glover, MC/producer Redveil, Bolivian bassist Christian Laguna, Berta Moreno, Connell Thompson, the Mambo Legends Orchestra, Glenn Drewes, Terrell Stafford, and Steve Turre.

Tenor Saxophonist, Nicholas Natalie, is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, improviser, and music educator. His recorded work has received airplay on WNYU Radio, WQED-FM Pittsburgh, and WAMU’s Capital Soundtrack. He has performed at venues such as Manchester Craftsman Guild, Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Music Hall, Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, The Mansion at Strathmore, Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, and Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. He has premiered original works at the International Navy Band Saxophone Symposium and the North American Saxophone Alliance Conference.

Baritone Saxophonist, Phil Murphy, is multi-faceted woodwind performer, playing regularly on bassoon, saxophones, clarinets, and flute in a variety of settings, including on Broadway in Wicked and Bandstand, in the orchestra of the Radio City Spectacular, as Bassoonist and clarinetist in the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra and Park Avenue Chamber Symphony, and as a 2015 bassoon selection for the Aspen Festival Orchestra. Phil studied saxophone with Ron Caravan, Gian Tornatore, and Ole Mathisen.