Larry Nozero was a saxophonist, flutist, bandleader, composer, producer, and educator. His playing and phrasing styles melded the influences of saxophonist Art Pepper, bassist Richie Cole, and flutist Frank Wess. Raised in and around Detroit, Nozero worked with a wide range of musicians during his career, including jazz legends Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie (sometimes with Detroit-born pianist Michael Longo), Stan Getz, Sergio Mendes, and Henry Mancini. He did session work for Motown with the Supremes, Four Tops, and Gladys Knight & the Pips, among others. He contributed to sessions by Motor City guitarist Dennis Coffey and Ron English, and keyboardist/composer Eddie Russ. Nozero's solo recordings include Time (the final release from Detroit's Strata label), Sphere's Inside Ourselves (Strata), Island Fever, Up to Your Neck, Four for Three: The Music of Eddie Russ, Grand Hotel, Kaleidoscopin', Street of Dreams, Warm, and Live at the Montreux Detroit Jazz Festival. Nozero was born in Detroit to parents Joseph and Maria Nozero and he had two siblings. His grandparents on his father's side were immigrants from Poland, while those from his mother's side hailed from Italy. Larry's father was a construction worker, and his mother was a homemaker. HIs background and upbringing played a significant role in his music. Like many talented reed players before him, Nozero studied first clarinet, then saxophone, and later, flute at Detroit’s Larry Teal School of Music (Yusef Lateef, Joe Henderson, and Bennie Maupin also attended the institution). Nozero played with many Detroit musicians. He was present at the founding of Detroit's Artist Workshop as a member of co-founder Charles Moore's Detroit Contemporary 5 in 1964. The following year he was drafted into the military and spent his hitch playing in the Army Band. The musical education he received while in the Army proved invaluable. He developed a life-long obsession with bossa nova -- in particular, the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim (the centerpiece of Time, his 1975 debut, included the Brazilian composer's "Chronicle of the Murdered House" in two parts). Upon returning to Detroit, friend and guitarist Dennis Coffey (then one of Motown's Funk Brothers) got him studio work with the label. He played sessions with the Supremes, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and the Four Tops. In 1971, he played on Marvin Gaye's conceptual soul classic What's Goin' On, delivering the legendary soprano saxophone solo on the title track. Based on the reception of Gaye's album, Nozero got work out of town as well as in. He married his wife Rachelle in 1972. He began working with Eddie Russ, appearing on his 1974 album Fresh Out, and served as a founding member of Detroit-based jazz collective Sphere; their only album, Inside Ourselves, appeared on Strata. That year he also played on Sonny Stitt's Tornado, which was recorded in Detroit and Grand Rapids with local jazzmen including bassist Ron Brooks and Russ. Nozero recorded the Charles Moore-produced Time with co-billed arranger/composer/keyboardist Dennis Tini and a cast that included Brooks, percussion master Muruga Booker (as "Muruga Shama"), and strings. The final record to appear on Strata, it was well received at home and in Europe. In 1975, Nozero played on Gaylord & Holiday's album Second Generation (an offshoot duo from the Gaylords). In 1976 he joined Russ' studio crew for See the Light (trumpeter Marcus Belgrave and bassist Larry Rhodes also played on the date). As a member of the Motor City Horns, he played on two albums by soul singer Denise La Salle (1975's Here I Am Again and 1976's Second Breath; the latter featured the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and pianist Earl Van Dyke). In 1976, Nozero served in the short-lived Mixed Bag with Brooks, drummer Dan Spencer, guitarist Jerry Glassel, and keyboardist Gaff Dunsun. They issued one album, Mixed Bag's First Album, on Tribe Records (collectively founded and owned by Phil Ranelin, Wendell Harrison, and Belgrave). It was co-produced by Bud Spangler and Brooks. The late '70s proved a very busy time for Nozero. He played on Coffey's Back Home and A Sweet Taste of Sin, and on the eponymous debut album by Detroit vocal group the Floaters (led by James Mitchell and Marvin Willis of the Detroit Emeralds). Certified platinum, it peaked at number ten on the Top 200, number one at R&B, and charted in seven countries. He also played on Starting All Over, singer Philippe Wynne's debut album, and joined the funky, Coffey-led disco band C.J. & Company on their Westbound debut Devil's Gun in 1977. Nozero contributed to ex-Temptation Eddie Kendricks' 1978 album Slick and joined the Floaters again for their sophomore outing Magic. He played on RJ's Latest Arrival's eponymous debut, and the only albums by Beverly & Duane (eponymous), Wilson Williams (Up the Downstairs), Dee Edwards (Heavy Love), Sweet Cream (Sweet Cream & Other Delights), and Hott City (Ain't Love Grand). In 1980, Nozero played in several ensembles at the inaugural Montreux Detroit International Jazz Festival (now called the Detroit Jazz Festival) playing with his own band, as well as Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, and other jazz luminaries. He played almost every subsequent year until his death. In 1981, he issued the critically acclaimed Island Fever on MSI. In 1982, Nozero joined the faculty of Detroit's Wayne State University and remained on its staff for the remainder of his life -- saxophonist Rick Margitza was one of his students. In 1983, Nozero and a quartet issued Up to Your Neck, a hard bop outing with electric keyboards. Two years later he played on Bess Bonnier and Other Jazz Birds alongside the Detroit-born Bonnier, the Detroit-born baritone saxophone maestro Pepper Adams, and Sir Roland Hanna. In 1988, Nozero released Kaleidoscopin' on Dominic Records with bassist Paul Keller who composed half its tracks -- the remainder were covers. It was released in 1992. In 1990, Nozero's quintet issued Street of Dreams, a collection of standards and ballads on Suncoast. In 1991, he put together an all-star big band of Michigan-based musicians and recorded Grand Hotel live in Mackinaw City in Michigan's upper peninsula. In 1997, Nozero was inducted into the Legends of Jazz International Hall of Fame. He also won a Spirit of Detroit award for his dedication to improving the quality of life in the Motor City. It would be nearly a decade, though, before Nozero released another album. He remained busy with teaching, session work, and performing with his quartet and quintet. Warm, recorded in 2001, offered covers of film themes, bossa classics, and standards by Jobim, Mancini, Michel Legrand, Quincy Jones, and the Beatles. In 2002, Nozero issued Live at the Montreux Detroit Jazz Festival. In 2003, he joined a stellar cast of musicians for Kid Rock's eponymous hit album, which also featured guest vocals from Hank Williams, Jr. and Sheryl Crow. That same year, Nozero and his quintet recorded and released Four for Three: The Music of Eddie Russ (who died in 1996); his band included bassist Kurt Krahnke, pianist/keyboardist Cliff Monear, drummer Enix Buchanan, and trumpeter Don Swindell. Nozero recorded one more album, a collection of American and Brazilian bossa standards with internationally renowned vocalist, producer, and arranger Shahida Nurullah just after being diagnosed with lung cancer. The duo, who had worked together live since 1999, planned on creating the "Jobim Project" -- its sole purpose was performing Jobim's music. They played some shows, but Nozero passed in February 2005 before they could record again. That year, the Detroit Artist's Workshop celebrated Nozero's life and artistic contribution. The saxophonist's final two gigs were at the DAW's 40th anniversary concert in 2004. Nurullah and a handpicked band performed the Jobim Project with Nozero's former student Margitza standing in on saxes and flute. In 2009, P-Vine, Japan's premier reissue label, issued Fish Feet, an unreleased Strata session recorded by guitarist Ron English that included Nozero in the company of pianist and Strata founder Kenny Cox, alto saxophonist Norma Jean Bell, organist Lyman Woodard, drummers Spencer and George Davidson, percussionist Leonard King, and bassist Ed Pickens. DJ Amir (Abdullah) acquired the rights to reissue the Strata catalog in 2011. With assistance from Barbara Cox (widow of Kenny and now-label owner), he had the label's titles remastered and, where needed, remixed, and he re-released Fish Feet. In 2021, Great Britain's BBE re-released Nozero's Time debut digitally, and in physical formats in 2024. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi