Craig McGorry is a New York City-Based Saxophonist, Songwriter, Composer, and Educator. His musical pursuits include improvisation, songwriting, & instrumental composition. In 2023, McGorry began to write and arrange a suite of social-justice-themed songs that he would call “The Truth Project: Songs Of Truth, Justice, & Hope.” The first song in this suite is called “Return To Love,” a song that explores how we are not born with racist ideas, but rather, they are formed as we grow up in society. He was inspired to write this around the time of George Floyd’s murder and the resulting protests that came about as a result.
McGorry often performs with Jazz groups, both as a leader and a sideman. His album “Snapshots,” recorded with the Ullmann / McGorry Group, was released in December 2022. This recording features McGorry’s compositions as well as those of guitarist David Ullmann. McGorry is also a founding member of the New York City-based Brass Band, Dark Tide Brass Band, which focuses on originals, covers, and modern and traditional New Orleans music. He also plays in larger ensemble settings, including with the Bushwick Big Band and Heard Immunity Horns. Additionally, McGorry plays with various NYC rock and pop bands. He has also performed in cabaret shows with vocalists, and in theater performances, such as Dan Brown’s “Tales From The Sometimes Y.” Though he plays all of the saxophones in the saxophone family, McGorry's focus is on the tenor and soprano saxophone. He also plays clarinet, piano, and guitar.
Over the years, McGorry has performed at various venues in New York City and beyond. These include Tomi Jazz, The Barclays Center (with rapper Lil' Kim), Culture Lab LIC, The Gramercy Theater, The Red Lion, Silvana, The Shrine, The Lexington Hotel, Arturos, Cleopatra's Needle, Wicked Willie’s, Prohibition Bar, The Roosevelt Hotel, and more. He also performed a few times at the summer Mount Greylock Jazz Festival in Adams, Massachusetts.
In addition to being an active performer, McGorry also teaches high school music and directs the Jazz Band at NEST+M, a public gifted and talented school on the lower-east side of Manhattan. He has been teaching music in the NYC Public School system for over 20 years, and has had experience teaching students ranging from pre-K through 12th grade. Through affiliations with Columbia University’s Teachers College, Fredonia School Of Music, Brooklyn College, and Crane School Of Music, McGorry has also trained many student teachers, for a period of over fifteen years, at both the graduate and undergraduate level.