Aram Shelton, an avant-jazz saxophonist and clarinetist, is also an improviser, composer, and clarinetist. Shelton, originally from southeast Florida, lived in Chicago between 1999 and 2005. She currently lives in Oakland. His music is represented in Oakland by the bands Stratic, Ton Trio and These Are Our Hours. Through his Quartet, the Fast Citizens (Delmark) and Jason Adasiewicz’ Rolldown (Cuneiform), he keeps Chicago in touch. He is influenced and grounded in the rich history and avant-jazz of free improvisation in America since the 1950s. More than a dozen albums have been recorded since 2003. “As an improviser he possesses a mind of a composer. Such is his consideration he puts into the work of his work.” – All About Jazz. “Shelton’s alto tone has the quizzical curls of bitter wisps, as well sharp repetitions that remind Roscoe Mitchell at its hairiest. Clifford Allen “Shelton is an alto player with a great singing voice and a way of turning simple phrases into full-blown solos. John Litweiler “brings back memories of Anthony Braxton with an acerbic, jazz-rooted asceticism at work.” All About Jazz Shelton began his career on the tenor saxophone as a child on a small ranch in southeast Florida. He then switched to the alto in college, and he focuses on the classical techniques. Shelton, upon graduating from high school, moved to Washington DC where he met other young musicians who were mostly playing free jazz. He moved to Chicago in 1999 after a series of intense months, which was a wakeup call to the power and potential of improvised music. He became active in Chicago’s creative music scene quickly and developed his playing style on alto and clarinet while also studying trumpet and clarinet. He performed improvised and creative jazz in many settings, including Arrive, with Jason Adasiewicz and Tim Daisy, as well as with Jason Roebke and Jason Roebke. The Fast Citizens featured Keefe and Josh Berman, Fred Lonberg–Holm, Anton Hatwich, Frank Rosaly, and Max/MSP to live sample and manipulate acoustic instruments. This was primarily with Johnathan in the electro-acoustic duo Grey Ghost. Shelton moved to Oakland in 2005 to study electroacoustic.
