Dagradi was born in New York City, and began playing alto saxophone when he was eight years old. In his professional career, he has primarily played tenor and soprano saxophone. He studied under
Pepper Adams,
Andy McGhee,
Kidd Jordan, and
Tony Aless in his youth, and was a student at
Berklee College of Music (1970-1972). The following year he founded the ensemble Inner Visions, which included
Ed Schuller and
Gary Valente as sidemen. After touring with
Archie Bell and the Drells, he relocated to New Orleans in 1977 and freelanced regularly with jazz and blues musicians in the city. He was a member of
Professor Longhair's touring band in the final years of Longhair's life, touring the United States and Europe and recording with him on the album
Crawfish Fiesta. In 1978 he cofounded
Astral Project, a group which has been active on the New Orleans jazz scene for over forty years. In the 1980s he worked with
Ramsey McLean,
Carla Bley, and
Bobby McFerrin. He earned a bachelor's degree at
Loyola in 1986 and a master's degree at
Tulane in 1990. In the 1990s he worked with, among others,
Mose Allison and
Ellis Marsalis, and is now professor of music at Loyola. ==References==