Andy Middleton (born May 22, 1962) is an American tenor and soprano jazz

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

. He has recorded with

Ralph Towner Ralph Towner (born March 1, 1940) is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and bandleader. He plays the twelve-string guitar, classical guitar, piano, synthesizer, percussion, trumpet and French horn. Biography Towner was born i ...

Dave Holland Dave Holland or David Holland may refer to: *Dave Holland (bassist) David Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English double bassist, bass guitarist, cellist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has ...

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, Order of Canada, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he w ...

Renee Rosnes Irene Louise Rosnes (born 24 March 1962), known professionally as Renee Rosnes ( ), is a Canadian jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Early life Rosnes was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, and grew up in North Vancouver, British Columbia. She ...

Jamey Haddad Jamey George Haddad (born July 2, 1952 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American percussionist who works primarily in the fields of jazz and world music and specializes in hand drums. Biography Haddad is of Lebanese ancestry. From the age of four, he ...

Joey Calderazzo Joseph Dominick Calderazzo (February 27, 1965) is an American jazz pianist and brother of musician Gene Calderazzo. He played extensively in bands led by Michael Brecker and Branford Marsalis, and has also led his own bands. Early life Calderaz ...

, and Alan Jones.

Life and career

Early life

Born in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

, Middleton grew up in a musical family and began playing the alto sax at the age of 9. He attended the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

from 1980 to 1982, then the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

from 1982 to 1987. He met

Steve Coleman Steve Coleman (born September 20, 1956) is an American saxophonist, composer, bandleader and music theorist. In 2014, he was named a MacArthur Fellow. Early life Steve Coleman was born and grew up in South Side, Chicago. He started playing ...

, John Abercrombie,

Richie Beirach Richard Alan Beirach (born 23 May 1947) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Early life Beirach was born in New York City. He initially studied both classical music and jazz. While still attending high school, he took lessons from pianist ...

and

David Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received a ...

at the

Banff Centre Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (formerly Banff Centre) is an arts and culture educational institution in Banff, Alberta, Banff, Alberta. It offers arts programs in the Performing arts, performing and fine arts, as well as leadership trai ...

in Alberta, Canada in 1985 and 1986. Middleton moved to the New York City area in 1987, playing with the

Bob Mintzer Robert Alan Mintzer (born January 27, 1953) is an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. Early life Mintzer was born and raised in a Jewish family in New Rochelle, New York, on January 27, 1953. He attended the Inte ...

Big Band, the

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, an ...

Big Band (who recorded a composition he wrote with his brother Rob Middleton entitled "Two Brothers" on "Cookin' in the Kitchen") and the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra. He founded his long-running quartet featuring at various times guitarist

Ben Monder Ben Monder (born May 24, 1962) is an American modern jazz rock guitarist. Biography Monder started playing guitar when he was eleven, after two years on violin. From 1979–84, he attended the Westchester Conservatory of Music, the University of ...

, drummers John Hollenbeck, Owen Howard, bassists

Scott Colley Scott Colley (born November 24, 1963) is an American jazz double bassist and composer. As of 2024, he had been nominated for 4 Grammy Awards, including Best Jazz Instrumental Album for '' Guided Tour'' in 2014 and '' Still Dreaming'' in 2019. Duri ...

and Peter Herbert, and pianists Henry Hey, Andy Ezrin, and David Berkman. Middleton's first album, ''Acid Rain'', featuring Joey Calderazzo, was released in 1991 by the French label Owl Records. His second, ''Terra Infirma'' was released in 1995 by EMI France, produced by David Liebman, and featuring the quartet of Middleton, pianist Renee Rosnes, bassist Paul Imm, and drummer Alan Jones augmented by a horn section.

The Fensters was a two saxophone, bass and drums formation featuring Middleton, Alan Jones, the saxophonist and composer François Theberge, and bassist Paul Imm. The Fensters recorded 2 CDs, "Jazz Music, Vol. 1" in 1992 for the Czech label Arta Records, and "Jazz Music, Vol. X" for the Dutch label Challenge Records sub-label A Records in 1996. In 1999 Middleton recorded his 3rd CD as a leader "Nomad's Notebook" with

ECM Records ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is an independent record label founded by Karl Egger, Manfred Eicher and Manfred Scheffner in Munich in 1969. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a variety of recordings, and ECM's a ...

guitarist

on acoustic guitars and piano,

on bass, Alan Jones on drums, Noah Bless on trombone and Jamey Haddad on percussion. "Nomad's Notebook" was followed by his 2nd production for the German label Intuition Music and Media featuring trumpeter Kenny Wheeler and trombonist Nils Wogram entitled "Reinventing the World". AM-Fritz Pauer

In September, 2006 Middleton moved to Vienna, Austria to teach at the

Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna The Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna (; MUK) in Vienna, Austria, is a university of music and the arts. It was previously (2005−2015) named (KONSuni, Konservatorium Wien University), and before that (Conservatory of Vienna). I ...

Awards and honors

* Outstanding Jazz Soloist, ''DownBeat'' magazine, 1987 * First Prize, Best Soloist, Best Arranger, 13th Europ' Jazz Contest, Belgium, 1991 * National Endowment for the Arts Performance Grant, 1996 * Brooklyn Arts Council performance grant, 2006 * Fund for U.S. Artists at International Festivals 2004, 2003, 1993, 1992 * New York Foundation for the Arts fiscal sponsorship, 2006 – 2009 * Chamber Music America's New Works: Creation and Presentation Grant Program/Doris Duke Jazz Ensembles Project, 2004 * Bundeskanzleramt Österreich: Film ''Kompositionsförderung'', 2014

Discography

As leader

* The Fensters - ''Jazz Music Vol. 1'' (Arta, 1992) * The Fensters - ''Jazz Music Vol. X'' (A Records, 1996) * ''Acid Rain'' (Owl/Time Line, 1991) * ''Terra Infirma'' (Owl /EMI France, 1995) * ''Nomad's Notebook'' (Intuition,, 1999) * ''Reinventing the World'' (Intuition, 2003) * ''The Muir Woods Suite'' (Chamber Music America, 2006) * ''The European Quartet Live'' (Qrious, 2007) * ''Between Worlds'' (Prova, 2010) * ''Three Hearts, Three Minds'' (Alessa, 2010)

As sideman

* Stefan 'Pista' Bartus Collectivity, 2012 * Lionel Hampton, ''Cookin' in the Kitchen'' Gladhamp, 1990 * Owen Howard, ''Drum Lore'' BJU, 2010 * Klemens Marktl/Flip Philip, ''Open Sea'', ATS, 2010 * Maria Schneider, ''

Concert in the Garden ''Concert in the Garden'' is the fourth studio album by American jazz composer Maria Schneider. The album was released in 2004 by ArtistShare and won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album in 2005. In 2019, the album was selected ...

'' ArtistShare, 2004 * Sparkle + Andy Middleton, ''Playing Tricks'' ZeroZero Jazz, 2010 * Ron van Stratum, ''Swingin' in the Swamp'' Mons, 2010 * Piotr Wojtasik, ''Old Land'' SO Jazz, 2013

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, Andy 1962 births American jazz composers American male jazz composers American jazz musicians American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Crossover (music) Living people Musicians from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 21st-century American saxophonists Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania 21st-century American male musicians