andy ballantyne profile picture

andy ballantyne

About Me

Andy Ballantyne is a saxophonist, arranger and composer in Toronto, Canada. A graduate of the Humber College and University of Toronto Jazz programmes, he also attended the Banff Centre Jazz Workshop in the late 80's. Over the past 20 years Andy has had the good fortune to perform and/or record with many jazz greats, including Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, Kenny Wheeler, Dave Holland, Don Byron, Vince Mendoza and Carla Bley. He is a regular member of John MacLeod's Rex Hotel orchestra, The Paul Read Orchestra, Nimmons and Nine Now, and the Neufeld/Occhipinti Jazz Orchestra.As a versatile performer in several different genres, Andy has performed for numerous musicals ("The Producers" was the most fun), recorded jingles and soundtracks, and backed up celebrities including Paul Anka, Petula Clark, Johnny Mathis, Gladys Knight and Donna Summer. He is currently on faculty at Humber College teaching saxophone, theory, and arranging/composition.Formed in 2006, the Andy Ballantyne Large Ensemble (ABLE) is an 11-piece band comprising some of Canada's finest jazz musicians. Their debut CD "The Sum of the Parts" is now available at CDBABY and also on ITUNES and AMAZON.COM. You can click on the link to the left in the "band website" box to preview or purchase the CD.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 7/5/2007
Band Website: www.cdbaby.com/cd/andyballantyne
Band Members: ABLE is: Andy Ballantyne: tenor sax, flute, charts, sometimes vague conducting... Tara Davidson: alto and soprano saxes, Kelly Jefferson: tenor and soprano saxes, Peter Lutek: baritone sax and contralto clarinet, Jason Logue: trumpet, flugelhorn, way too many mutes..., Kevin Turcotte: ditto, William Carn: trombone (only a couple of mutes), Rob Somerville: ditto, plus the diabolical pixie/plunger mute combination, David Braid: piano and extra sensory perception, Mike McClennan: bass, Daniel Barnes: drums
Influences: Saxophone: Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, Cannonball, Ornette, Chris Potter, Ralph Bowen, Joel Frahm. Writing: Duke Ellington, Gil Evans, Charles Mingus, Jim McNeely, Dave Holland, Maria Schneider, Bob Brookmeyer, Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, the Beatles
Sounds Like: Omnivore Jazz
Record Label: unsigned
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Whole Note Magazine review of The Sum of the Parts

The jazz artists supreme challenge is respecting the tradition without sacrificing freshness.  The debut recording by the Andy Ballantyne Large Ensemble (ABLE) succeeds, as the title suggests, thanks...
Posted by on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:44:00 GMT

Coda Magazine review of The Sum of the Parts

Reedman/composer Andy Ballantyne has found plenty to work with deploying his A-list troops on The Sum of the Parts (Indie).  He’s written seven of the ten pieces here, and has made charts o...
Posted by on Mon, 17 Mar 2008 19:38:00 GMT

Liner Notes for "The Sum of the Parts"

Notes for "The Sum Of The Parts", by Andy Ballantyne American Portrait (for Kurt Vonnegut) I've always loved the sound of "Americana" as exemplified by 20th century composers like Aaron Copeland and L...
Posted by on Mon, 04 Feb 2008 20:19:00 GMT