Sylvain Carton

Originally from France, Sylvain Carton is a multi-instrumentalist and composer currently residing in Los Angeles.  An accomplished saxophonist and guitarist, Sylvain tours and records regularly with a number of groups representing a variety of musical genres and traditions, such as The Japonize Elephants, Beats Antique, John Vanderslice, The Mitch Marcus Quintet, Aphrodesia, Spaceblaster, Khi Darag, Lord Loves a Working Man, and Carolyna Picknick.

As a composer, Carton writes for The Japonize Elephants and also writes extensively for his own jazz quartet, The Mitch Marcus Quintet, the MMQ + 13 big band, Carolyna Picknick, and the 12-piece afro-funk ensemble Aphrodesia.  His compositions for big band won a "Subito" grant from the American Composer's Forum.  Sylvain has also composed chamber music for small orchestra, string quartet, brass quintet, saxophone quartet, solo pieces for voice, tuba, cello, guitar, saxophone, and clarinet, and has been commissioned to write music for a documentary aired on PBS, several independent films, and Oakland's 'Counterpointe' dance company. 

Sylvain Carton holds a BM in Jazz Performance from the Indiana University School of Music at Bloomington, where he studied with David Baker, Eugene Rousseau, Tom Walsh, and Shirley Diamond, as well as an M.A. in music composition from UC Santa Cruz, where he co-directed the Latin American Music Ensemble.

In addition to performing and composing, Sylvain is a Vandoren Performing Artist and Artistic Advisor.
www.sylvaincarton.com