Andrew Bishop

(he/him/his)

Co-Chair of Jazz & Contemporary Improvisation and Professor of Music

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Bio

Andrew Bishop is a versatile saxophonist, clarinetist, flautist, composer, improvisor, scholar, and educator comfortable in an array of musical settings. Dave Lynch of All Media Guide wrote: “A composer of contemporary orchestral and chamber music, Bishop combines a jazzman’s fire and flow with a rigorous compositional sensibility, resulting in a potent and highly satisfying blend.” He maintains an active national and international career and serves as a Professor and Chair of the University of Michigan Department of Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation in Ann Arbor where he teaches applied saxophone, composition, and improvisation. He also serves on the Faculty of the Interlochen Arts Academy with U-M Colleague Timothy McAllister and teaches at both the Interlochen Summer Saxophone and Jazz Institutes. Bishop earned five degrees in music, including a D.M.A. in Music Composition from the University of Michigan; two MM degrees in Music Composition and Improvisation from the University of Michigan; and two BM in Theory-Composition and Saxophone Performance from Wichita State University. A dedicated and committed teacher, Bishop was twice the recipient of the Arthur Anderson Professor of the Year Award, the Joyce G. Ferguson Faculty Development Grant for Excellence in Teaching, and the 2021 Harold Haugh Award for excellence in studio teaching. He is a Conn-Selmer and Vandoren artist.

Bishop studied jazz and improvised music with David Baker, Jerry Bergonzi, Tom Fowler, Barry Harris, Dave Liebman, Craig Owens, Ellen Rowe, Ed Sarath, and Reggie Workman; saxophone with Jean Lansing and Donald Sinta; and composition with William Albright, Leslie Bassett, William Bolcom, Evan Chambers, Michael Daugherty, Jimmy Giuffre, and Walter Mays. He also studied musicianship with Marianne Plogger, tabla with Dan Weiss, and low Irish Whistle with Tyler Duncan.

Andrew Bishop’s three recordings as a leader, De Profundis, Time and Imaginary Time and the Hank Williams Project received widespread acclaim from The New York Times, Downbeat Magazine, the Chicago Reader, All Music Guide, Cadence Magazine, All About Jazz-New York, All About Jazz-Los Angeles, The New York Jazz Record, Stereophile Magazine, and the Detroit Free Press, among others. Elliot Simon of the New York Jazz Record recently wrote: “De Profundis impresses with its astute combination of musicianship, spirituality and compositional insight.” Furthermore, De Profundis received a “Record of the Year (Honorable Mention)” by the New York Jazz Record in 2015. He leads a variety of his own projects. He has performed with an array of settings and artists and has performed and forged important musical relationships with artists including Geri Allen, Lucian Ban, Dave Ballou, Karl Berger, Kenny Burrell, Terri Lyne Carrington, Ray Charles, Gerald Cleaver, Kris Davis, Marty Ehrlich, Michael Formanek, Robert Hurst, Chris Lightcap, Mat Maneri, Tony Malaby, Mario Pavone, Tom Rainey, Hank Roberts, Jacob Sacks, Angelica Sanchez, Tyshawn Sorey, Craig Taborn, Clark Terry, and Matt Wilson among others. He has recorded over 50 recordings as a side-musician.

As a composer and arranger, he has received over 40 commissions from professional organizations, universities, and numerous residencies. He has also received recognition and awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP); the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; the Andrew W. Melon Foundation; the National Endowment for the Arts; and a nomination from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His orchestral composition “Crooning” was recorded by the Albany Symphony Orchestra on Two American Piano Concertos (Albany Records) featuring pianists Ursula Oppens and Ian Hobson. He has also completed composition and arranging projects for Geri Allen, Gerald Cleaver, Kris Davis, Ellery Eskelin, Steve Houghton, Robert Hurst, Ingrid Jensen, Dave Liebman, Miles Okazaki, and Matt Wilson.