About Jon Irabagon

In April 2026, Jon Irabagon was named a Guggenheim Fellow — one of 223 selected from nearly 5,000 applicants for one of the most competitive honors in the arts. His Guggenheim Fellowship recognizes him specifically as a composer: a singular creative voice in contemporary music. His 2008 Thelonious Monk Saxophone Competition win recognizes the other side of that equation — improvisational mastery and saxophonistic command at the highest level.

Together, they make him the only jazz musician in history to hold both distinctions.

Born in Chicago in 1978, Irabagon grew up at the intersection of two powerful traditions: the self-empowering experimental ethos of the AACM — the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians — and the historic world-class tenor saxophone lineage of his hometown. That dual inheritance is the engine of everything he makes. As a first-generation Filipino-American, his cultural specificity isn’t incidental to his artistry. It’s the reason his voice is unlike anyone else’s in the room.

He trained at DePaul University, the Manhattan School of Music, and Juilliard, where he received an Artist Diploma in jazz. His compositional language layers modern classical influence and late-period Coltrane over a foundation of deep improvisation — focused primarily on mixed chamber ensembles built around the distinct voices of hand-chosen musicians. As music reporter Nate Chinen noted in his Top Performances of 2015, Irabagon’s compositions are “drawn to the play of opposing forces, especially those involving abstraction of form.”

Named one of New York City’s 25 Jazz Icons by Time Out New York, Irabagon leads his ensemble Outright! — whose recording Unhinged received a 5-star Masterpiece review in Downbeat Magazine — as well as the Jon Irabagon Trio with Barry Altschul and Mark Helias, and his quartet with Matt Mitchell, Chris Lightcap, and Dan Weiss. As a sideman, he has worked alongside Dave Douglas, Mary Halvorson, Barry Altschul, Patricia Brennan, Ralph Alessi, and Uri Caine, among others.

Since January 2023, Irabagon has served on the faculty at the University of Illinois Chicago, teaching jazz saxophone, combos, and jazz history. He has given masterclasses in saxophone, improvisation, and composition on four continents, and taught at institutions including Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Middle School Jazz Academy.

A recipient of the Philippine Presidential Award — the highest civilian honor an overseas Filipino can receive for their contributions to the global Filipino community — Irabagon carries that recognition not as a credential, but as a reflection of what his work means beyond the bandstand.

His compositional output has been supported by the Guggenheim Foundation, New Music USA, Chamber Music America, the Aaron Copland Fund, the Illinois Arts Council, the Shifting Foundation, USArtists International, South Arts Jazz Road, and the French American Cultural Exchange, among others. Irabagon is the founder and operator of Irabbagast Records, releasing his own work alongside other cutting-edge creative artists.