Composer, trombonist and educator, Andrew Jones is active in the Toronto jazz, classical and commercial scene as a teacher, writer, clinician and a player.
A graduate of the University of Toronto, he is a regular member of many large and small ensembles as a leader and sideman, playing with some of Canada’s finest musicians. Since 2010 he has served as the Artistic Director of the Jazz Mechanics Big Band, an organization that prides itself in its mandate to showcase the finest in Canadian Jazz
repertoire.
Working as one of Canada’s top young writers, Andrew is in demand with many professional bands and artists as a composer and arranger. He has served as head arranger for multiple jazz orchestras in the Toronto area and has orchestrated music for a diverse collection of shows and musicians including John McDermott and saxophonist
Donny McCaslin.
In January 2008 he was recipient of the SOCAN/IAJE Phil Nimmons Emerging Jazz Composer Award, and was commissioned to debut a piece at the International Association of Jazz Educators Conference in Toronto. Music education has always been a central focus. He has worked on faculty at the University of Toronto’s Jazz Performance and Music Education programs and as an adjudicator at many music festivals.
As a strong advocate for the use of Canadian repertoire in school band programs, he continues developing his own independent business of creating educationally sound, original music for school-level jazz ensembles. His music has been featured by Musicfest Canada’s Yamaha All-Star Band and by many of the finest secondary and post-
secondary programs across Canada. He is the recipient of the Toronto Jazz Orchestra “Young Composers” Competition and the Don Wright Scholarship for Composition in Education (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education). Andrew has also been published through ArtistShare as a contributing author for Brian Lillos' book Jazz Pedagogy: A Canadian Perspective.
Andrew continues his development of jazz pedagogy and composition at the secondary school level through the arts program at Cawthra Park Secondary School, where he has directed ensembles and developed curriculum for 15 years, and as an instructor at numerous summer jazz programs.