Andrew Jay Laster (born May 25, 1961 in

Bethpage, New York Bethpage (formerly known as Central Park) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 16,429 at the 2010 United States Censu ...

) 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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

saxophonist. Laster studied early in his career with Joe Dixon and Dave Burns, both in the 1970s; he lived in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

in the early 1980s, where he attended

Cornish College of the Arts Cornish College of the Arts (CCA) is a private art college in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1914. History Cornish College of the Arts was founded in 1914 as the Cornish School of Music, by Nellie Cornish (1876–1956), a teacher of ...

and played local gigs. He relocated to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

later in the 1980s, and played saxophone on

Lyle Lovett Lyle Pearce Lovett (born November 1, 1957)Lyle Lovett Pageat Allmusic – Lovett's Genre and Styles. Retrieved February 2, 2007 is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. Active since 1980, he has recorded 13 albums and releas ...

's albums and tours between 1989 and 1995. In the 1990s he became increasingly visible as a jazz musician, working with the groups

New and Used Dave Douglas (born March 24, 1963) is an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and educator. His career includes more than fifty recordings as a leader and more than 500 published compositions. His ensembles include the Dave Douglas Quintet; Sound ...

and

Orange Then Blue Orange Then Blue is an avant-garde big band from Boston, Massachusetts led by drummer George Schuller. Several well known jazz musicians have performed with the group as either members or guests, including trumpeters Dave Douglas (trumpeter), Dav ...

, as well as with

Marty Ehrlich Marty Ehrlich (born May 31, 1955) is a multi-instrumentalist (saxophones, clarinets, flutes) and is considered one of the leading figures in avant-garde jazz. Biography Though born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the portion of Ehrlich's youth spent i ...

, Erik Friedlander, Phil Haynes, Mark Helias, and Bobby Previte. As a leader, he has had sidemen including Friedlander, Drew Gress,

Tom Rainey Tom Rainey (born 1957) is an American jazz drummer. Career After attending Berklee College of Music he moved to New York in 1979. He has played with Tim Berne, Nels Cline, Drew Gress, Mark Helias, Fred Hersch, Tony Malaby, Simon Nabatov, ...

, Herb Robertson, Cuong Vu, and

Kenny Wolleson Kenny Wollesen (born 1966) is an American drummer and percussionist. Wollesen has recorded and toured with Tom Waits, Sean Lennon, Ron Sexsmith, Bill Frisell, Norah Jones, John Lurie, Myra Melford, Steven Bernstein, and John Zorn. He is ...

."Andy Laster". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. 2nd edition, ed.

Barry Kernfeld Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American musicologist and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published extensively about the history of jazz and the biographies of its musicians. Education In 1968, Kernfeld enrolled at ...

Discography

* ''Hippo Stomp'' (Sound Aspects, 1989) * ''Twirler'' (Sound Aspects, 1990) * ''Hydra'' (Sound Aspects, 1994) * ''Polyogue'' (Songlines, 1995) * ''Interpretations of Lessness'' (Songlines, 1997) * ''Soft Shell'' (Knitting Factory, 2000) * ''Window Silver Bright'' (New World, 2002) * ''Riptide'' (Tzadik, 2011)

References

American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Musicians from New York (state) 1961 births Living people 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Orange Then Blue members Ghost Train Orchestra members Lyle Lovett and His Large Band members {{US-jazz-saxophonist-stub