Andrew Downing, a Toronto-based double bass player, cellist and composer, was born in London, Ontario, in 1973. He is a part of Canada’s creative jazz scene, but also plays classical chamber music and improvised music. He uses the unique technique of tuning his bass in fifths, which is one octave less than a cello. Jack Winn and Don Thompson are his teachers. Shauna Rolston, Joel Quarrington, Joel Quarrington, Shauna Rocheston, Shauna Rolston, Joel Quarrington, and Dave Young are his mentors. His projects include a variety of styles and practices. He has recently started a collaboration with Guc Basar Gulle, Turkish lute player, to incorporate Ottoman Classical music into a collection for ud and cello. Their first album, Anahtar, will be released in October 2013. A collaborative multi-media project he has with John Southworth, a Canadian songwriter, and Yesim Tosuner, the visual artist and visual artist is called Easterween. It features songs John wrote and Andrew arranges for his chamber ensemble of seven musicians. His chamber-jazz group Melodeon also features live music for silent films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (with choir), Phantom of the Opera, Impossible Voyage, Maciste in Hell and The Shock. Andrew is a composer and has composed pieces for Ensemble Polaris (Nordic Folk), Jayme Stone (banjo player), Ensemble Meduse and Toca Loca. He has also written arrangements for Patricia O’Callaghan and The Gryphon Trio as well as The Annex Quartet, The Art of Time Ensemble, and The Annex Quartet. Two Juno Awards have been won by Andrew, one for Blow The House Down, his recording with Great Uncles of the Revolution and one with the Vancouver-based Zubot and Dawson. He also received two West Coast Music Awards and a Socan Award. Andrew teaches double bass, composition, and improvisation at University of Toronto. He has also taught at Wilfred Laurier University and at Banff Centre’s Jazz Workshop. from http://www.andrewdowning.com
