Mervin Toussaint

Mervin Toussaint is a young, emerging saxophonist and composer making a name for himself as both a performer and educator in the Philadelphia area. A 2014 graduate of Willingboro High School, Toussaint went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees—in saxophone performance and jazz studies, respectively—from Philadelphia’s University of the Arts. In addition to keeping a roster of private students, Toussaint teaches and assists with ensembles at Settlement Music School and the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts. A Haitian American, Toussaint grew up in the Haitian church; it’s from there that his foundational musical influences derive. But Toussaint is also steeped in jazz and drawn to hip-hop, R&B, and neo-soul. He’s led gigs at area hot spots like Chris’ Jazz Café and South Jazz Kitchen and has worked as a sideman for Philly jazz greats like V. Shayne Frederick and Odean Pope. He’s just as likely to accompany rappers, poets, and spoken word artists and to incorporate those art forms into his original compositions; his five-song debut EP, Another Name for Everything, released in late 2020, testifies to that. Around the time of its release—in November 2020— Toussaint and his band were featured on WHYY-TV’s House Concert Series, playing “Lately,” the first cut off that new EP. -Matt Silver

Photo Credit: David Magazzukii