Andrew Downing is a double bass player, composer and bandleader living in Toronto. Originally from London, Ontario, Andrew finished the University of Toronto's Jazz Performance program in 1996, and has been very active in the Canadian music scene since then. He has studied with Jack Winn, Dave Young, Don Thompson, Shauna Rolston and Joel Quarrington. He received a Canada Council for the Arts Grant in 2004 to study with Quarrington, at which time he started tuning his bass in fifths and playing with the German Bow, practices he continues to this day.
Musically, Andrew plays primarily in the creative jazz scene in Canada, but also performs classical chamber music, improvised music, folk and roots music, and world music. He has played with a diverse range of musicians such as Kevin Turcotte, Mike Murley, Patricia O'Callaghan, Kelly Joe Phelps, Ab Baars, François Houle, Marilyn Lerner, Bob Moses, Brodie West and Moe Koffman. He is also a member of the David Occhipinti Quartet and the Lina Allemano Four.
Andrew also leads his own groups Arts and Letters, The Great Uncles of the Revolution and Melodeon. He has a Juno Award, a West Coast Music Award and The Grand Prix de Jazz for work with The Great Uncles, as well as another Juno Award, a SOCAN award and a West Coast Music Award with Vancouver collaborators Zubot and Dawson.
As a composer, he has written pieces for Ensemble Meduse, Toca Loca, Runcible Spoon and the Urban Arts Brass Ensemble as well as many works for his own groups. He has also produced recordings for The Great Uncles, Andrew Downing/David Tronzo, Kelly Jefferson and William Carn.
Andrew teaches double bass and composition at the University of Toronto and has taught at the Banff Centre's Jazz Workshop with Dave Douglas as well as the Creative Music Workshop in Halifax with Jerry Granelli and David Mott.
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