Vincent Lars Saxophonist/Song Writer/Producer Vincent was born on April 26, 1960 in Richmond, California. He was introduced to the saxophone at the age of 9 by his grandfather, C.D. Gardner. Vince immediately took to the horn and set out to audition for the Grant elementary school band, and was accepted! He continued to play at Portola Jr. High School, where his music teacher, Mr. Charles Lord, encouraged him to audition for the University of California at Berkeley, Summer Music Program. The Program was established for extremely talented young students of music and was prestigious for the times. Vince was accepted into the program and began to study jazz and classical music at the college level. He continued with the U.C. Berkeley Music Program for four years while attending El Cerrito High School, where he continued to excel in music. He joined the school Jazz Band and won a jazz soloist award at the Orange County Jazz Festival while still a freshmen in high school. Vince quickly became the leader of the jazz combo, which competed in numerous high school competitions. In Vince's senior year of high school, he led the El Cerrito Jazz Combo to its no. 2 ranking in the State of California High School Jazz competitions by boldly performing difficult tunes, such as, Freddie Hubbard's "Intrepid Fox", and Chick Korea's "Spain". After graduating high school, Vince continued his love affair with music by playing in several Bay Area bands, with styles ranging from Reggae, Funk, Fusion, Classical, and also Jazz. In 1992, Vince earned his first notable musical opportunity and began to play with the R&B group, Tony, Toni, Tone. The "Tony's" soon hit the road with Janet Jackson and became her opening act! Vince's tour credits include: Tours: Tony, Toni, Tone's 1992 Tour; Janet Jackson's 1992 Tour; Eric Benet's 1998 Tour; Larry Graham's 2003 Tour; and The Family Stone's 2004 Tour. Vince has recorded with the following producers and musical groups: Denni & Tommy of En Vogue; Raphael Saadiq, Dwayne Wiggins, and Tim Riley of Tony, Toni, Tone; Bos Scaggs; Kenneth Crouch; Walter Hawkins; Baby Face; Art 'n Soul; and Destiny's Child. ~ Movies & Sound Tracks: "Peggy Sue Got Married"; "Jason's Lyric"; "Nina Takes a lover"; "Panther" and "Copland". Television appearances: The Arsenio Hall Show; The Jay Leno Show; David Letterman's Tonight Show; Saturday Night Live; Soul Train; Show Time at the Apollo; The Conan O'Brian Show; The Rosie O'Donnell Show; John Stewart; BET, VHI, and MTV. Featured Recordings: "Every Time I Close My Eyes" (Baby Face remix) "Loving You" (Tony, Toni, Tone - House of Music) "Annie Mae" (Tony, Toni, Tone - House of Music) "All My Love" (Art 'n Soul- Touch of Soul) "That's How Love Goes" (Art 'n Soul- Touch of Soul) "Christmas Time is Here" (Mojazz/Christmas Album - Various Artists) Vince has two Platinum Recording Credits for his work: Tony, Toni, Tone - " House of Music" Destiny Child - "Destiny's Child" Vince has always had a deep appreciation for keyboards played with tastefully chosen chord voicing. His appreciation for the different moods that chords can create naturally lead to songwriting for Vince. In fact when conversing with him about music you will get a clear impression that songwriting is his greatest musical challenge. Welcoming this challenge with joy and enthusiasm Vince has just completed his debut solo CD project, "Inner Search". He wrote all songs on the CD, except "Before I Let You Go" by Blackstreet, and "Number Love", which he shared co-writing credit. A truly gifted artist" Vince's "Inner Search" was arranged, produced, and engineered by him. If that weren't enough, Vince played key boards on all 10 tracks and sang background vocals on 5 of the album cuts! This recording allows the listener to experience a part of the musical river that flows through the heart, soul & mind of Vincent Lars! Peace and blessings to the listener! Contact Vince at: Vincentlars.com 415.561.9790 Thanks to everyone who have been supportive of Vince throughout his entire musical career!