Josh Sinton, born in 1971 in Southern New Jersey, is a creative musician specializing in baritone saxophone and bass clarinet. Influenced early by his family's record collections and his father's stride piano, he studied composition at the University of Chicago and improvisation at the AACM, later performing and collaborating in Chicago with Fred Anderson, Ken Vandermark, and others. After travels in Europe and India, he earned a master's in Jazz Performance from the New England Conservatory, studying with Steve Lacy, Ran Blake, and Dominique Eade, before moving to Brooklyn in 2004. A member of Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, Nate Wooley Quintet, Andrew D'Angelo DNA Orchestra, and Anthony Braxton's Tricentric Orchestra, Sinton has toured internationally and performed at major festivals, working with artists including Mary Halvorson, Ingrid Laubrock, and Roswell Rudd. Active in the Douglass Street Music Collective, his work has been recognized by Downbeat, Jazz Times, and El Intruso, and featured in The Wire, the New York Times, and NYC Jazz Record. Defining himself as a "creative musician" since 2011, he leads the band Ideal Bread, plays regularly with the Nate Wooley Quintet and Tricentric Orchestra, and writes new music and essays for various publications.

How would you describe music?

Rhythmically activated air molecules imbued with intentionality

What is your relationship to music?

It is the best medium (for me) to offer unasked-for gifts.

What draws you to the instrument(s) you play, and/or to composing?

A compulsion with no discernible origin (the instruments) and circumstance (the composing)

What musician(s) most influenced your approach to music, and why?

That changes every few years. Currently a short list would be: Julius Hemphill (counterpoint & form), Roscoe Mitchell (breadth and fearlessness), Eliane Radigue (form & timbre), HR (timbre, breadth and phrasing)

Who or what influences you most outside of music, and why?

Painters like deForest, Johns, Goya & Jack Whitten (texture of the brush stroke), Emily Dickinson (musical hermeticism), Percival Everett (satire and breadth), South African winemakers Chris & Andrea Mullineux (finesse, gentle focus and wider awareness)

What deceased performer(s), improviser(s), or composer(s) would you most like to have a conversation with, and why?

Montaigne (just to shoot the shit. I'd let him pick the topic), Samuel Beckett (the same), Steve McCall (the same) and Harry Carney (technical questions about the baritone saxophone and bass clarinet)

What advice would you give to a young musician entering your field?

Be careful. Take care of yourself. Don't be afraid to ask for help. If you stop being compelled to be a full-time musician, stop being a full-time musician. Life can be long and complex. Music and art are always there for you, they don't go away (or anywhere for that matter). Develop the discipline to focus on the good humans in your life, fuck the assholes.

What do you hope audiences take away from experiencing your music?

Questions. A sense of possibility. Mysteries. Energized ears.

Where are you currently located or musically associated with?

Brooklyn, NY. Not sure what people I'm currently associated with. Maybe Nate Wooley, Ingrid Laubrock, Tom Rainey and Jonathan Finlayson?

What is your musical education or background?

B.A. in music composition from University of Chicago with simultaneous studies at the AACM. Private teachers Ari Brown & Ken Vandermark while hustling day jobs in Chicago. Masters in Jazz Performance at New England Conservatory studying with Steve Lacy, Ran Blake, Dominique Eade, et. al. Lifelong love affair with the saxophone.

What are some of your favorite recordings by other musicians or groups?

Currently? All the Xenakis recordings being put out by Karlrecords (Persepolis, Mycenae Alpha, Concret PH, etc.), Neighborhood Gods Unlimited by Open Mike Eagle, Clarity, Circle, Triangle, Square by Michael Gregory Jackson and Franklin Mint's Greatest Jazz Recordings of All Time (hundreds of deep cuts curated by Dan Morgenstern)

What are some of your favorite recordings that you have made?

Slow Learner and 4 Freedoms

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