David Schnitter

David Schnitter is an American jazz tenor saxophonist most known for his tenure with Art Blakey and his Jazz Messengers from 1974 to 1979 and with Freddie Hubbard from 1979 to 1981. Born in Newark, New Jersey Schnitter played clarinet as a youth before switching to tenor sax at age 15. He studied with Joseph Allard before earning a BA at Rutgers University. After moving to New York City he played with Ted Dunbar before becoming a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers from 1974 to 1979 which has been his most notable association. Schnitter brought the hard bop saxophone style, influenced by Dexter Gordon and Sonny Stitt, back to the Jazz Messengers after years of them mostly playing modal jazz. Schnitter eventually played with Sonny Stitt on the album In Walked Sonny when Stitt recorded with Art Blakey. While still a Jazz Messenger, Schnitter also recorded four albums as a leader for Muse Records from 1976 to 1981. After leaving the Jazz Messengers, he played with Freddie Hubbard from 1979 to 1981 and also worked with Frank Foster, Charles Earland and Groove Holmes. He moved to Spain in 1981 and kept a low profile. From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_S...) under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...)