Ian Buss 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. He has appeared on numerous albums, including Seulah Noh's NOhMAD and Henry Godfrey's Attitude and Gratitude.
Passionate about music education, Ian taught in Palomar College's Conservatory program, directed ensembles at the Young Lions Jazz Conservatory, and conducted jazz theory and woodwinds masterclasses at the UCSD Extension Jazz Camp program. 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.
Henry Godfrey bio: Henry Godfrey is a composer and instrumentalist currently based in Boston, MA. He has performed his own compositions in venues and festivals across North America and South-East Asia. As a composer/arranger, he has worked with esteemed groups such as the US Army Blues and the Berklee Concert Jazz Orchestra.
Since moving from the Washington DC area, Henry has recorded and performed with the Henry Godfrey Jazz Orchestra, a big band he directs and writes for. Their first release, Love Finds Everyone (Jan 2019) was followed up with the extended release Love Finds Everyone LP Edition (June 2020).
Henry has performed with groups of various genres around the Boston area on drums and percussion. He’s also recorded with the Buta Big Band, a Materia-represented big band that performs covers of video game soundtracks. Before that, he performed with funk band LANDS, which performed at the 2016 Monsoon Music Festival in Hanoi, Vietnam.
After receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Jazz Composition from the Berklee College of Music, Henry received a Master’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. Henry has also studied the Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization, with a certification to teach the concept.
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