"...brings a smile to every face in the room."
Chicago Tribune

"Powerfully swung jazz...Gershwin, calypso, originals are all treated with Sabien's trenchant bluesy approach."
Strings

"Sabien's Fiddlehead Blues Band played a five-alarm, check-the-gas-tank-with-a-lit-match set."
Daytona News Journal

"Randy's workshops are so much fun, they should be illegal."
American String Teachers Association

"One of the 'swingingest' evenings ever. Couples couldn't help jumping out of their seats and jitterbugging in front of the band."
Christian Science Monitor

"Sabien combines classical technique and folk energy in a program that's still strictly jazz."
USA Today

When RANDY SABIEN picks up his violin, get ready. His rhythmic, bluesy, swingin' sound will have you bobbing your head, tapping your toes and dancing right out of your chair.

Although Randy's muscial aspirations began by studying classical violin,  his direction did an about face the day he discovered he could play jazz on the violin. He poured himself into the music of the swing era and began teaching himself to play along with records of his favorite jazz artists. He also continued to appreciate the music of his own generation; the 60's and 70's. This led to inspired renditions of tunes by the Beatles, The Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers and others. Meanwhile, his own compositions developed as straight ahead jazz for violin. When he put out his first album, In a Fog, it was received with glowing reviews from Downbeat, JazzTimes, Billboard and others.

Randy has been a favorite guest of "A Prairie Home Companion" and "Austin City Limits" and recently co-authored Jazz Philharmonic (Alfred Publishing), an innovative exploration of jazz methods for string orchestras. As founder and former director of the String Department at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, Randy has developed a knack for teaching students of all ages. In fact, he has served as "artist in residence" in communities spanning nineteen states, Canada, and Europe.

Available with an endless variety of performance formats and educational settings (including A Tribute to Stephane Grappelli, honoring the father of Hot Club jazz w/ Brian Q. Torff on bass), he can adapt to virtually any performance situation; festivals, universities, concert halls and clubs. Randy's  new -- and very rockin' -- 8-piece band is now available in support of his latest CD, Rhythm and Bows (©2008). The new ensemble features a 5-piece rhythm section, including veterans from The Fiddlehead Band, along with 3 (count 'em, three!) fiddle players.