. Originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, Pat Mallinger has been playing the saxophone for 29 years. Mr. Mallinger has lived and performed in Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston, and Japan, before relocating to Chicago 13 years ago. His resume includes performances with Joe Williams, Nancy Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Harry Connick, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, among others. Pat has toured with Charles Earland, Woody Herman, Cab Calloway, and Artie Shaw Orchestra.

In addition to being featured on concerts and festivals throughout the world, Pat is very active on the Chicago music scene. He performs regularly with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, Ravinia Festival Jazz Band, Bobby Lewis Quintet, Bobbi Wilsyn Quintet, Howard Levy, Orbert Davis, Kurt Elling, Allejo Poveda Latin Jazz, and as co-leader of Sabertooth.

Pat has been involved with the Ravinia Jazz Mentor program, founded by Ramsey Lewis, since it’s inception nine years ago. Through performance and jazz instruction in the public school system, he mentors the underserved, inner city Chicago youth. This program enables Pat to provide the encouragement and influence he received in his youth from school and local jazzmen.

Howard Reich, arts critic for the Chicago tribune describing a recent performance said, "Just when listeners unfamiliar with Mallinger might have assumed him to be an utter extrovert, however, he turned to an ethereal, hauntingly beautiful original ballad, 'April Sings.' The poetry of this tune alone would have distinguished this set, but Mallinger's free-flowing transformation of it reaffirmed his stature as a top-rank improviser. For as he developed his themes, Mallinger led at least one listener to believe that even he was not quite sure where his next phrase would lead him. That degree of spontaneity does not come along as often as one might think".