A B O U T J E S S E R Y A N
“…a new jazz artist in the diaspora reconnecting with his roots to seal the idea of Caribbean music beyond a dance accompaniment.“ — Caribbean Beat Magazine, 2021.
Trinidadian-born Jesse Ryan is a saxophonist and composer with a keen interest in the connections between jazz and Afro-Caribbean musical traditions and in communicating transcendent ideas through his music. His compositions are ambitious and his enchanting sound tells, that he is set to take Caribbean jazz out of its niche of ethnic fusion, and into the mainstream.
Ryan’s JUNO-nominated debut album Bridges is “…an aural explosion of stellar musicianship, that incorporates his explorations of his own cultural roots, expertise in the modern jazz idiom and elements of the sacred, embellished with joyful Trini flourishes. — Medium Magazine, 2020.
He’s the 2020 recipient of the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Emerging Jazz Artist Award - an award that puts a spotlight on emerging jazz musicians with a keen sense of the grand tradition behind jazz music while putting their own stamp on the genre and the Toronto music scene with their unique style and approach.
Ryan grew up in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago surrounded by a rich heritage of music and is the grandson of one of the islands’ calypso veterans, the late Clifton Ryan, aka the “Mighty Bomber”.
He’s studied at Berklee College of Music, Boston, and Humber College, Toronto where he received a B.Mus. Degree in Contemporary Music. He’s currently pursuing an MFA in Music Composition at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Ryan currently lives in Toronto, Canada, and has studied with Jon Gordon, Nick Morgan, Kirk MacDonald, Pat La Barbera, Luis Deniz, Shelly Berger, and Roberto Occhipinti.
As a sideman, he’s performed and recorded with Rachel Therrien, Amhed Mitchel, Larnell Lewis, Joy Lapps-Lewis, Daniel Barnes, Jojo Bowden, and Alex Bird. He’s been commissioned as a composer by the Nathaniel Dett Chorale to write the Virtues Suite for jazz quintet, string quartet, and chorale, and as an arranger/producer, he’s worked with a variety of jazz, gospel, and world music artists.
Ryan’s curiosity about the saxophone and musical development inspired him to create the Keep Taking Ground Saxophone Podcast - a new and exciting podcast for the professional and aspiring professional saxophonists, that features conversations with in-demand and award-winning saxophonists from around the world and across jazz and contemporary styles.
He currently serves on the board of directors for the Toronto Arts Foundation.
Ryan is a P. Mauriat artist and plays their horns exclusively.
