Alastair Ingram
Instruments: Saxophone, Clarinet and Flute
Alastair has lived in the Russian River area of
Northern California for over 25 years. Born in Dundee, Scotland,
he came to this country in 1955 at the age of six.
It was after serving, from 1967 to 1971, in
the United States Air Force that he decided to learn to play the
Saxophone. Starting at Solano Junior College in Fairfield, Ca.,
Alastair studied with two professors who he still considers his
mentors, John Kolarik and David Froehlich. David Froehlich is a
pianist extraordinaire. John Kolarik was a low brass man, but is
now playing stand up bass. After two years under their tutelage,
he received his Associate in Arts degree there in 1973. After a
year at San Francisco State University, studying privately with
Danny Patiris, Alastair transferred to Cal State Hayward. At CSUH
Alastair spent two years studying with classical Saxophone
player William Trimble. After an additional year studying jazz
with Jeff Neighbors and Marv Nelson, a series of master classes
with William Trimble, and numerous recitals, he received his BA
in Music with a concentration in Saxophone Performance.
In Sonoma County, some of the bands Alastair
has played with include The Russian River All Stars, Bob Simmons
New Exchange,The Dave Brady Octet, The Gray Cats, True Slack,
Grand Slam and The Sonoma Swamp Dogs. He has played hundreds of
casual gigs with various local musicians. Among Sonoma County's
vast variety of bands, Alastair has filled in many times for Gator
Beat, Blue
Moon, two well known local groups. Alastair's
main group, Metro,
is a six piece band that plays many styles, including swing,
jazz standards, R & B, and top forty.
Alastair currently maintains a schedule of 30 students in Santa Rosa and Sebastopol.
