Pianist/vocalist/composer Gary Negbaur plays jazz, blues and American roots music, combining innovative arrangements of standards with soulful originals. He has grooved at the Superdome and at the French Quarter Fest in New Orleans, knocked them out at Birdland in NYC and raised the roof at South by Southwest in Austin. He brought the audience to its feet at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival.
He tours as a soloist and with the Gary Negbaur Group.
A “witty songwriter” (Austin Chronicle) with a “jazzy croon” (St. Louis Post Dispatch) who can “control the black and whites like Captain Kirk manning the Enterprise” (The Tennessean), his recordings include original rock music (Let me explain), solo jazz standards (Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat), children’s music (Max’s Family Band), New Orleans classics (Alive in New Orleans) and a piano trio recording of reinvented standards alongside originals (You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught). His next album (Binding Isaac & the Prodigal Son) features two suites of original songs based on biblical parables and will be released in 2024.
In addition to performing, Negbaur composes for theater, film and TV. He wrote music and lyrics for the musical Wine Lovers and contributed to the score of the feature film An American Summer. His
song, Red Pontiac, was featured on NPR’s beloved “Car Talk.” Gary studied at Harvard University (where he received the David McCord Prize for unusual creative talent and a Magna Cum Laude
B.A.) and the Berklee College of Music (where he was a merit scholarship recipient). He tries to put all that to good use.