Ernie Krivda

Awarded: 2005
Born: Cleveland, Ohio

"The music I play, a lot of the inspiration for it comes from the culture that is here in Cleveland"

- Ernie Krivda

Ernie Krivda is one of Cleveland’s most accomplished, awarded and well-known jazz artists. In addition to performing and composing, Krivda is a committed jazz educator, holding the distinction of having been the first teacher hired by the Tri-C Jazz Studies program and was the former Artistic Director of the Tri-C Jazz Studies Program. Krivda began his official professional career in 1963 with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. During the 60s, he played in the bands of two Cleveland legends, organist Eddie Baccus, Sr. and guitarist Bill DeArango. He also played in the house band at Leo’s Casino that backed a wealth of legendary Motown acts. In the 1990s, he founded Ernie Krivda and the Fat Tuesday Big Band, one of Northeast Ohio’s best known swinging big bands and he continues to play and lead the critically acclaimed Ernie Krivda Jazz Quintet.