Shawn Baltazor

Powerfully eclectic Composer/Producer Shawn Baltazor aims to find the common thread throughout seemingly disparate musical contexts. Having spent his formative years performing everything from Dixieland to Electro-Ambient art music, his compositional voice is one that speaks to the unfolding emotional narrative of music more so than a particular style or genre. Baltazor’s individual sound has been sought after by a wide range of artists. He has written multiple scores for the New York City-based Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company, premiered works by composers Vijay Iyer and Darcy James Argue, as well as had his own work performed and recorded by ensembles comprised of a who’s who of New York musicians including Jason Moran, members of David Bowie’s Blackstar, Yo Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra and Houston Symphony Orchestra. As a producer, his work appears most recently on Ergo’s latest release As Subtle As Tomorrow (Cuneiform Rune 419) as well as the Walking Distance debut Neighborhood (Ropeadope RAD 260), in addition to his own debut LIONSONG (FSNT 509). Drawing from a diverse palette of texture and color, his compositions serve as a vehicle for the listener to dive within. The emotional textures invoked in his work can range from the subtle and quiet to the fierce and bombastic, all the while conveying a story that is simultaneously familiar and new. As a performer, he can be heard with the acoustic fire-band Walking Distance, the Balkan Metal-Jazz powerhouse Red Fiction, the electro-ambient trio Ergo and others.