About

Sebastian Bailey is a saxophonist, educator, and composer from Montreal. Albums Silhouettes of Silence (Fresko Music) and Love Song for the Nation (Vineyard Music) were recorded and released in Berlin in 2012 and 2016 respectively. Sebastian completed a Master of Music degree at McGill University in 2018, where he was supervised by acclaimed composers John Hollenbeck and Christine Jensen.  Sebastian coordinated and performed sessions of collective improvisation for chamber ensembles of up to 9 musicians of diverse musical backgrounds as part of the Improvisation Workshop Project, working closely with pianist and improviser Jean-Michel Pilc.

Sebastian's self-released EP, Ensemble de Magnac (2018), features original compositions for an 11-piece chamber jazz ensemble, of which he presented his composition “Rocking Chair in 3 Sittings” the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers Symposium in 2019 and 2021. He is the recipient of the Calder Spanier Prize for composition and the Irene R. Miller and Anoush Khoshkish Fellowship in Music, which supports his current doctoral research. Sebastian lives in Berlin with his wife, Benita, and their two children, Noah and Addisu. He travels to Toronto on occasion to teach, play music, and continue his research.