Andrew Bishop

(he/him/his)

Chair of Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation and Professor of Music

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Bio

Andrew Bishop is a versatile saxophonist, clarinetist, flautist, composer, improviser, educator, and scholar comfortable in many musical idioms. 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 an associate professor and chair of University of Michigan Department of Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation in Ann Arbor where he teaches applied jazz saxophone, composition, and improvisation. He is a Conn-Selmer and Vandoren artist.

Bishop studied jazz and improvised music with David Baker, Jerry Bergonzi, Tom Fowler, Dave Liebman, Craig Owens, Ellen Rowe, Ed Sarath, and Reggie Workman; saxophone with Jean Lansing and Donald Sinta; and composition with William Albright, William Bolcom, Evan Chambers, Michael Daugherty, and Walter Mays.

Bishop’s three recordings as a leader, De Profundis, Time and Imaginary Time, and the Hank Williams Project (Envoi Recordings) 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.

Bishop also leads a variety of his own projects. As a sideman he has performed with Reid Anderson, Geri Allen, Karl Berger, Dave Ballou, Sandip Burman, Kenny Burrell, Eugene Chadbourne, Ray Charles, Gerald Cleaver, Kris Davis, Marty Ehrlich, Michael Formanek, Drew Gress, Jerry Hahn, Robert Hurst, Chris Lightcap, The Either Orchestra, Mat Maneri, The Manhattan Transfer, Tony Malaby, Ben Monder, Jeremy Pelt, Mario Pavone, Tom Rainey, Hank Roberts, Jacob Sacks, Tyshawn Sorey, Craig Taborn, Clark Terry, Ben Waltzer, Matt Wilson, and John Zorn, among others. He has participated in over 40 recordings as a side musician.

As a composer and arranger, Bishop has received over 25 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. Mellon Foundation; 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 Ellery Eskelin, Steve Houghton, Robert Hurst, Dave Liebman, and Matt Wilson.