Member biographies

Lee Elderton, the founding member of SPECTRUM, has been the featured soloist of concerti and solo works with many University and High School Wind Symphonies throught Southern California. In addition to his extraordinary skills as a classical saxophonist, Mr. Elderton is one of southern California's most exciting and sought-after jazz players. His jazz performancess and recordings with the Ira B. Liss Big Band Jazz Machine and Bobby Caldwell's album Blue Condition showcase his big band skills while his recordings with the improvisational group Return to One display his modern improvisational creativness. A former member of the jive and blues band The Buddy Blue Show as well, Mr Elderton is at home in all genre of music. He has studied Conducting with Luis Gonzalez and Saxophone with Charlie Richard and Kelly Hart-Jenkins. Mr. Elderton teaches saxophone, flute, and clarinet in his private studio.

Saxophonist Adnan Marquez has performed as a soloist in the cities of Tijuana, Mexicali and Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. He was also named State representative for Baja California for the 1997 National Youth Orchestra in Mexico City. He was a founding member of the Centro de Estudios Musicales de Ensenada- Universidad Autonoma de Baja California (CEM-UABC) Jazz workshop Combo, and was one of the founding members of the SDSU Student Ensemble in residence, Super Nova Saxophone Quartet. He currently is member of the Spectrum Saxophone Quartet, group that probes the realms of composition and free improvisation. He has performed with the San Diego Wind Ensemble His interest in free contemporary improvisation has leaded him to be part of the Contemporary Improvisation Techniques Workshops held by renowned composers such as Julio Estrada and Bassist Stephano Scodanibbio. As a composer he was part of the Contemporary Compositional Techniques Course under the instruction of Ignacio Baca-Lobera. He has studied saxophone with Alexander Gurievich, Kelly Hart-Jenkins, Jay Easton, and Doug Masek. Adnan Marquez in actively involved in teaching and runs his own saxophone instruction studio.

Ward Baxter is heavily involved in the classical repertoire for tenor saxophone, as well as composition and arranging in a myriad of genres. His interest and expertise in classical, jazz, avant-garde, Latin and other ethnic musics provide a foundation for his compositionally minded improvisations. Mr. Baxter has performed throughout southern California with dozens of ensembles, and has numerous recordings to his credit. He holds a both a Bachelors and Masters of Music degree in Tenor Saxophone Performance from San Diego State University. Mr. Baxter performs and teaches soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones, piccolo, flute, and alto flute, as well as Eb, Bb, and Bass clarinets, with an affinity for improvised music. He is also an avid admirer of, and active participant in, electro-acoustic music.

Jay C. Easton is one of the few musicians in the world to perform on the entire saxophone family of instruments, and he is an active performer on over thirty woodwind instruments. He has performed in North America, Central America, Europe, and Japan with a wide variety of artists including Spectrum Quartet, the San Diego Symphony, Eartha Kitt, Yes, Barry Manilow, Lyric Opera San Diego, numerous professional musical theater productions, and many other large and small ensembles. His solo performances feature rare and unusual woodwinds and their repertoire, with special emphasis on the saxophone family and the lower reeds. Jay's recently released CD, So Low, features compositions for baritone, bass, contrabass, and subcontrabass saxophones. It is the first album ever dedicated solely to the largest saxophones.

Mr. Easton has been the subject of a front-cover feature interview in Saxophone Journal magazine, and is now one of their regular contributing writers. He has served on the woodwinds faculty at San Diego State University, the University of San Diego, and the Bishops' School in La Jolla. He has studied with a wide range of performers including Michael Brockman, Kelley Hart-Jenkins, Dennis Michel, and Lewis Peterman, and is now working towards a Doctorate in saxophone performance at the University of Washington and performing as a freelance musician in the Seattle area. Photos, sounds, and educational resources for unusual woodwind intruments are available at his website at www.jayeaston.com.