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
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.
So I'm playing a chart for jazz in the schools today and it is arranged by a guy named Gardiner Westbound? Have you heard of him? It was a fantastic tune. Hope you have a great summer Andy J
jajaja....No Rusty Nails this time , didn't had time to make thoese at the Hotels. The Tour went well , always on the run, but a lot of Fun to. This Time there were People at the Cellar Jazz Club (Vancouver)jajaja...Hope we'll play together again some time soon..Take care bro........AB.
