Marion Meadows

Meadows was born in West Virginia and grew up in Stamford, Connecticut. He began playing the clarinet and studying classical music at the age of nine. He started playing tenor sax in high school, and then migrated to soprano sax. His passion for various types of music led him down an eclectic musical path. He was intrigued by the styles of jazz musicians, like Stanley Turrentine, Sidney Bichet, Johnny Hodges, John Coltrane, Sonny Stitt, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Dexter Gordon, Cannonball Adderley, Coleman Hawkins, Sonny Fortune, Joe Henderson, Grover Washington and many others. After studying jazz at Rippowam High School in Stamford, CT with Anthony Truglia, Meadows attended Berklee College of Music. There he majored in arranging and composition. He later went to the SUNY Purchase School for the Arts. During his college years he played in a number of bands including disco, R&B and various jazz ensmbles. I got a lot of sideman jobs in college, and I have always said I got my real graduate degree playing clubs, says Meadows, who perfected his craft studying with Sonny Fortune, Joe Henderson, Dave Liebman and Eddie Daniels.