Anthony Ferrara was born in the small bay-area town of Sonoma, California. It was here that he first discovered his love of music and performing arts at a young age, practicing singing and dancing at the local Sebastiani Theater. Beginning saxophone for 5th-grade band, he quickly showed an aptitude as well as passion for the instrument. He began studying with his first saxophone teacher in Sonoma, Keith Ridenhour, with whom he memorized transcriptions of Charlie Parker and Michael Brecker solos that formed a strong early foundation of his musical vocabulary. In those formative years Anthony joined the Sonoma Hometown Band which performed for local parades and events. He even played lead alto saxophone in the Sonoma High School jazz band before graduating middle school.
Anthony commuted for high school to Marin School of the Arts, a magnet school which had not one, but three jazz bands. It was here that he met award winning high school musicians that inspired him and also introduced him to his next saxophone teacher, Dann Zinn. Dann’s method of teaching scales and improvisation was so rigorous that Anthony began to practice 6-8 hours a day. And by his senior year, Anthony was playing lead tenor in the SFJAZZ High-School All-Star big band. He released his first self-produced album ‘Going’ that same year with some friends he made at SFJAZZ.
In 2014, Anthony moved to New York City on a full-ride scholarship to NYU Steinhardt’s Jazz Studies program. At NYU, Anthony had access to some truly great saxophone teachers, studying privately with Rich Perry, Chris Potter, Mark Turner, Joe Lovano, Dave Pietro and even SNL bandleader and lead saxophonist, Lenny Pickett. During this time, Anthony self-produced another album, ‘Contradiction,’ this time with musicians he met at university. It was also at NYU that Anthony met his mentor and legendary bass player, Ron McClure. Anthony started performing with Ron while he was still in school and continued after he graduated in 2018.
In 2019, Anthony recorded on Ron McClure’s SteepleChase album ‘Lucky Sunday,’ which received a 4-star review in Downbeat magazine. SteepleChase producer, Nils Winther, liked the album so much that he offered Anthony his own record. Although the recording date was delayed during the COVID-19 restrictions, Anthony’s debut album ‘Early Spring’ was eventually released in Spring 2021. He went on to record two more albums, ‘Cold Faded’ (2022) and ‘Factory Fresh’ (2024), all with the same world-class rhythm section of Gary Versace (piano), Jay Anderson (Bass), and Billy Drummond (Drums).
Anthony has performed in every borough of New York City including estemeemed venues such as The Blue Note, Dizzy’s Club, Madison Square Garden, Plaza Hotel, Tavern on the Green, Central Park Boathouse, Cipriani, Piers 17, 36, 40 & 60, Hudson Yards, Soho House, Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, Queens Botanical Gardens, Wynwood (Staten Island), Wave Hill House (Bronx) and many more across the tristate area and beyond!
As a sideman, Anthony plays with an assortment of bands and acts. Anthony works with famed entertainment agency, Hank Lane, working regularly with their band, Elektra, playing pop and rock classics for weddings from Long Island to Rhode Island. He also performs regularly with Philadelphia-based entertainment company, Simone Band, performing at Polish weddings and other Polish celebrations across the northeast as far as Maine and even Napa, California. Anthony performs with neo-crooner and trombonist, Richie Nuzz, at many NYC hotel lounges including Faena and The James Hotel. He plays regularly with opera-soprano turned jazz-vocalist, Jessa V Salerno, at Italian celebrations and in nightclubs such as The Ivy Room and Laissez-Faire.
Most recently, Anthony has been pursuing new creative undertakings. His latest album to be released, ‘Straight Into the Sun Vision’ features a whole new band of his closest musician cohorts. This project, also to be released under SteepleChase, will debut Ferrara as an emerging vocalist. Singing is something Anthony has done since a child in choirs and theater performances, but it was not until 2024 that he began to incorporate singing into his solo performances. In that time he has sang at several New York venues including Elsie Rooftop, Delancey Rooftop, AG Steakhouse (Long Island), Sotto La Luna (Astoria), Stuytown Ice Rink, as well as several senior living facilities including The Coterie (Hudson Yards), Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, and Inspir Carnegie Hill.
His Big Tones Band is a group that is ever-evolving and has seen several new forms in recent years. Early Big Tones Band projects mostly consisted of brass bands and swing bands hired as dance bands to play New Orleans, Big Band Swing, and Top 40 hits for events and private functions. Arrangements of the Big Tones Band have performed in a number of contexts ranging from New Orleans funerals to birthday parties, wedding proposals & ceremonies, country club events, Christmas parties, and even religious/cultural services. His newest Big Tones Band projects include an 8-piece ‘mini big band’ swing project. Complete with vocals and horns, Anthony has arranged crooner classics for this unique brass ensemble. An ever diverse project, Anthony has also teamed up with award-winning Brazilian poet and composer, Fernando Augusto to put on performances of Bossa Nova and Samba music in which Anthony sings in both English and Portuguese.
