Bio

Saxophonist/Composer/Educator Ian Buss is a collaborative musician rooted in jazz and blues. He toured the United States with Grammy-nominated singer Sugaray Rayford, including headliner performances at festivals such as Bluesapalooza, Columbia Pike Blues Festival, and Big Bull Falls Blues Fest. The Sugaray Rayford Band was nominated for Band of the Year at the 2019 Blues Music Awards. Ian has also shared the stage with jazz trumpeters Gilbert Castellanos and Jon Faddis, Blues legend Buddy Guy, Afro-Cuban percussionist Bobby Sanabria, and Brazilian vocalist/composer Luciana Souza.

In 2019, he founded the band Blue Morpho and formally joined contemporary chamber ensemble SWARMIUS. Both groups’ music addresses human rights and other contemporary social issues.

Passionate about music education, Ian has run his own private lesson studio since 2009 and has 4 years of online education experience. He taught individual lessons at Palomar College, directed ensembles at the Young Lions Jazz Conservatory, and conducted jazz theory and woodwinds masterclasses at the UCSD Jazz Camp. He also served as Artist-In-Residence at Torrey Pines High School, where he taught improvisation and big band ensemble skills, and has coached beginners at public elementary schools.

Ian is currently a graduate student at New England Conservatory in Boston. He earned his BFA from The New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music and participated in the prestigious Banff Centre’s Workshop for Jazz & Contemporary Music directed Vijay Iyer and Tyshawn Sorey.