Steve Baxter

The mission started in Houston, Texas when Steve began playing baritone horn at age 14. His first idol was legendary J.J. Johnson. Throughout high school he performed with the award winning Forest Brook High School Stage Band, and then continued his training at the prestigious Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he majored in Jazz Studies from 1980-1983. While at Howard, Steve began to seriously study the Jazz masters, participating in events such as the Thelonious Monk Memorial Concert series featuring Grady Tate, Charlie Rouse, Wallace Roney; and workshops with musical greats like Lionel Hampton. He moved to Los Angeles in 1991 to pursue a solo career, and to continue perfecting his craft.

Steve's a dynamic, high energy, multidimensional artist whose skills as a musician, songwriter, and producer have elevated his talent to another level. His repertoire covers everything from R&B to Latin Salsa to Afro Cuban Jazz and he has shared the stage and studio with some of the biggest names in the music industry, including the Ray Charles World Tour (1985), Horace Tapscott, The Crusaders, Barry Manilow, Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Temptations, The O'Jays, The Four Tops, Bobby Matos, Babyface, Eric Benet, 13 Cats, Patti Labelle, Sheila E, Alicia Keys, Macy Gray, Beck, and Ziggy Marley.

Steve's horn playing, coupled with his Marsalis-like looks landed him an appearance in the 1995 Denzel Washington thriller, "Devil In A Blue Dress." Steve also appeared in the motion picture "Spider-Man 3" as a bandleader in a jazz scene. He has appeared on American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, BET Awards, The GRAMMYs, NAACP Awards and many other shows and films.