"Up Close & Personal" with saxophonist Vandell Andrew"

Hailing from the "birth place of jazz",Vandell Andrew's destiny was not too hard to find. Vandell started studying music at the age of 13 at a local jazz summer camp in the treme area of New Orleans. It was then that he learned to play the trumpet. After a whole summer of playing the trumpet, Vandell was approached by one of his teachers that his embouchure would be better suited playing the saxophone.

Being that this teacher was the COOLEST sax player in the world, Vandell took this ultimatum as a compliment that his teacher would be even considering teaching him. Soon after learning to play the alto saxophone, Vandell joined the infamous St.Augustine "Marching 100" band. Playing in events and parades all over the world, convinced Vandell that this was what he wanted to do for a living after high school. Following high school, Vandell enrolled in music classes at Southern University at New Orleans, and studied with the legendary Edward "Kidd" Jordan. Shortly after about a month of studying with Kidd, the horrible hurricane Katrina took the city of New Orleans by storm. Vandell found himself relocating to Dallas,Tx. This experience was extremely hard to cope with at first , but Vandell began to like living in Dallas a little more, after checking out the music scene around town. Vandell began writing and working on his own solo compositions. This has led to him sharing stages with many local acts,at many different venues .As well as nationally known acts like Kirk Whalum, and Tom Braxton. This is only the beginning for this young entrepreneur, he is soon to record his debut album in the very near future.