 Irby toured the U.S. and the Caribbean with the Boys Choir of Harlem in 1995.During that tenure, he also recorded and toured with Marcus Roberts and was part of Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead Program together with Roy Hargrove.After a four-year stint with Hargrove, Irby focused on his own group, in addition to being a member of Elvin Jones' ensemble and Papo Vazquez's Pirates Troubadours.