Aram Shelton

A multi-instrumentalist on saxophones & clarinets, composer and improviser, Aram Shelton was recently featured in Downbeat due to his active ties to the creative music scenes in the Bay Area and Chicago. While the music he makes is spread across a variety of aesthetic lines, it is connected by the importance of improvisation to develop material and express the individuality of musicians. Originally from southeast Florida, he moved to Chicago in 1999 and relocated to Oakland in 2005 to study at Mills College.

In California the groups Cylinder, Ton Trio, Marches and the Pink Canoes represent his music. He maintains his connections to Chicago through the groups the Fast Citizens (Delmark), Rolldown (Cuneiform), and his own Arrive (Singlespeed).

Beginning on tenor saxophone while growing up on a small ranch in southeast Florida, Shelton switched to alto in college and focused on the classical techniques of the instrument. On graduating, Shelton moved to Washington DC for a summer where he met other young musicians that were mainly playing free jazz. After an intense several months that served as an awakening to the power of improvised music he moved to Chicago in the spring of 1999, inspired by the amount of musical activity. He quickly became involved in the city's creative music scene and began to develop his playing style on alto saxophone while simultaneously studying clarinet and trumpet. He played creative jazz and improvised music in many settings including the groups Dragons 1976, Arrive, and Rapid Croche. Over time he began to use computer-based electronics for the live sampling and manipulation of acoustic instruments, and with Johnathan Crawford formed the group Grey Ghost.

After several productive years in Chicago, Shelton moved out west to study electroacoustic music at Mills College in Oakland, California. While studying there Shelton developed compositions that focused on the technique of phrase modification, wherein written phrases played by orchestral instruments are recorded in real time and rearranged via custom built patches in MAX/MSP. He continues to improvise and compose electroacoustic music focused on these concepts.

Shelton has been fortunate to perform with a wide variety of talented musicians including Tim Daisy, Ken Vandermark, Jason Ajemian, Josh Berman, Audrey Chen, Darren Johnston, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Dave Rempis, Damon Smith, Steve Bernstein, Weasel Walter, Jason Roebke, Liz Albee, Rob Mazurek, Matt Bauder, Jessica Pavone, Havard Wiik, Josh Abrams, Harris Eisenstadt, Jeb Bishop, Tim Perkis, Kevin Drumm, Kjell Nordeson, Frank Rosaly, Guillermo Gregorio, and Chris Brown. He has performed in Europe, Canada and the United States including appearances at the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Suoni per il Popolo Festival in Montreal, and the Krakow Autumn Jazz Festival. His playing and music has been documented through several imprints including Delmark, 482 Music, Locust Music, MultiKulti, Edgetone, and his own Singlespeed Music.