Andy Biskin ''(né'' Andrew Barry Biskin; born 1955 in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

), is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

clarinetist This article lists notable musicians who have played the clarinet. Classical clarinetists * Laver Bariu * Ernest Ačkun * Luís Afonso * Cristiano Alves * Michel Arrignon * Dimitri Ashkenazy * Kinan Azmeh * Alexander Bader * Carl Baermann * ...

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...

ist,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, and filmmaker based primarily in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Career

Biskin is a graduate of

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

and once served as an assistant for

Alan Lomax Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music of the 20th century. He was also a musician himself, as well as a folklorist, archivist, writer, sch ...

. Biskin's music has often been played on

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between segments on ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

'' and ''

Fresh Air with Terry Gross ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to 6 ...

''. In 2000, Biskin's album, ''Dogmental'', was named album of the week in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' by Ben Ratliff. In 2004, he animated and set to music a series of

Rube Goldberg machine A Rube Goldberg machine, named after American cartoonist Rube Goldberg, is a chain reaction-type machine or contraption intentionally designed to perform a simple task in an indirect and (impractically) overly complicated way. Usually, these mach ...

s, including a "self-operating napkin", for his film ''Goldberg's Variations''.

Discography

As leader

* ''Dogmental'' ( GM, 2000) * ''Early American: The Melodies of Stephen Foster'' (Strudelmedia, 2006) * ''Trio Tragico'' (Strudelmedia, 2006) * ''Act Necessary'' (Strudelmedia, 2014)

Video

* ''Lily Dale: Messages from the Spirit Side of Life'' (documentary),

Cinema Guild The Cinema Guild Inc. is a film distribution company. It was established by Philip and Mary-Ann Hobel, producers known for their work in documentaries and features, including the film '' Tender Mercies''. Since 1968, the Cinema Guild has been ...

(1991); : Produced and directed by Biskin

References

Post-bop clarinetists American jazz clarinetists American jazz bass clarinetists Bass clarinetists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Yale University alumni 21st-century clarinetists {{US-clarinetist-stub