Andy Biskin ''(né'' Andrew Barry Biskin; born in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

), is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

clarinetist The clarinet is a single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The clarinet family is the largest woodw ...

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common Soprano clarinet, soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays no ...

ist,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, and filmmaker based primarily in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Career

Biskin is a graduate of

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and once served as an assistant for

Alan Lomax Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music during the 20th century. He was a musician, folklorist, archivist, writer, scholar, political activ ...

. Biskin's music has often been played on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

between segments on ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

'' and ''

Fresh Air with Terry Gross ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's hosts are Terry Gross and Tonya Mosley. , the s ...

''. In 2000, Biskin's album, ''Dogmental'', was named album of the week in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' by Ben Ratliff. In 2004, he animated and set to music a series of

Rube Goldberg machine A Rube Goldberg machine, named after American cartoonist Rube Goldberg, is a chain reaction–type machine or contraption intentionally designed to perform a simple task in a comically overcomplicated way. Usually, these machines consist of a s ...

s, including a "self-operating napkin", for his film ''Goldberg's Variations''. The piece was featured in 2013 at the

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a multi-arts center in Brooklyn, New York City. It hosts progressive and avant-garde performances, with theater, dance, music, opera, film programming across multiple nearby venues. BAM was chartered in 18 ...

Next Wave Festival.

Discography

As leader

* ''Dogmental'' ( GM, 2000), featuring Ron Horton (trumpet), Bruce Eidem (trombone),

Ben Allison Ben Allison (born November 17, 1966) is an American double bassist, composer, producer, bandleader, educator. In addition to his work as a performer, he co-founded the non-profit Jazz Composers Collective and served as its Artistic Director for ...

(bass), Matt Wilson (drums) * ''Early American: The Melodies of Stephen Foster'' (Strudelmedia, 2006), featuring John Hollenbeck (drums), Pete McCann (guitar/banjo), Chris Washburne (trombone/tuba) * ''Trio Tragico'' (Strudelmedia, 2006), featuring

Dave Ballou Dave Ballou is an American jazz trumpeter and professor of music at Towson University, in Maryland. Early life and education Ballou was born in Peace Dale, Rhode Island. He started playing the trumpet at age 11. Ballou received his bachelor's ...

(trumpet),

Drew Gress Drew Gress (born November 20, 1959) is an American jazz double-bassist and composer born in Trenton, New Jersey and raised in the Philadelphia area. Biography Gress studied at Towson State University and Manhattan School of Music. In the late ...

(bass) * ''Ibid: Act Necessary'' (Strudelmedia, 2014), featuring

Kirk Knuffke Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning 'church'. The term ''the Kirk'' is often used informally to refer specifically to the Church of Scotland, the Scottish national church that developed from the 16th-century Reformation ...

(cornet), Brian Drye (trombone), Jeff Davis (drums) * ''The Spokes: Not So Fast'' (Strudelmedia, 2015), featuring Phillip Johnston (soprano sax),

Curtis Hasselbring Curtis Rae Hasselbring (born July 12, 1965, in Fort Wayne, Indiana) is an American jazz trombonist, guitarist and composer. Hasselbring learned trombone and guitar while young, though he did not play guitar professionally until the 1990s. He stud ...

(trombone) * ''16 Tons: Songs from the Alan Lomax Collection'' (Andorfin, 2018), featuring John Carlson, Dave Smith, Kenny Warren (trumpets), Rob Garcia (drums) * ''Reed Baske''t (Andorfin, 2024), featuring Peter Hess, Mike McGinnis, and

Sam Sadigursky Sam Sadigursky (born April 17, 1979) is a clarinetist, saxophonist, flutist and composer. Biography Early life Sam Sadigursky (born April 17, 1979) was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. His parents are both classically trained musicia ...

(clarinets)

Video

* ''Lily Dale: Messages from the Spirit Side of Life'' (documentary),

Cinema Guild The Cinema Guild Inc. is an American film distribution company. It was established by Philip Hobel and Mary-Ann Hobel, producers known for their work in documentaries and features, including the film ''Tender Mercies''. Since 1968, the Cinema ...

(1991); : Produced and directed by Biskin

References

Post-bop clarinetists American jazz clarinetists American jazz bass clarinetists Bass clarinetists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Yale University alumni 21st-century American clarinetists {{US-clarinetist-stub