Drummer/Composer Shawn Baltazor, originally from the California Bay Area, was exposed early on to it’s richly diverse musical environment. He began performing professionally at the age of 10 with musical groups ranging from Rock and Roll to Traditional New Orleans Jazz. Moving to the east coast in his late teens to pursue his studies, he attended the renown William Paterson University where he was featured in performances with legends Clark Terry, Slide Hampton, Wynton Marsalis, Joe Lovano, Kenny Garrett and more.

Baltazor has performed internationally at the Festival International des Musiques Noires d’Abidjan in Cote d’Ivoire, the Jazzablanca Festival in Cassablanca, Morocco and the Risonanze Festival in Venice, Italy. US performances include the Kennedy Center, JVC Jazz Festival, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Merkin Concert Hall as well as many of New York City’s Jazz clubs. He has composed multiple scores for the New York City-based Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company, having them performed by live chamber ensembles. As a performer and composer, his individual sound has been sought after more recently by a wide range of artists including Eric Reed, Kermit Driscoll and Grammy Nominee Darcy James Argue, with which he has premiered several works.

http://www.shawnbaltazor.com