Jon Ballantyne

His father, Fred, is a pianist, and both of his parents are jazz enthusiasts who introduced him to recordings by Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, and Duke Ellington.

Additionally, he played the tenor saxophone and piano in high school concerts and stage bands at City Park Collegiate Institute in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

During the 1990s, while living in Park Slope, Brooklyn, he participated in afternoon jam sessions with musicians such as Seamus Blake, Bill Carrothers, Phil Haynes, Donny McCaslin, and others, many of whom were his neighbors.

From 1999 to 2006, he led a quartet featuring bassist Boris Kozlov, drummer Jeff Hirshfield, and saxophonist/bass clarinetist Douglas Yates, as well as a trio with Drew Gress and Gene Jackson.

In 2013, Ballantyne toured Canada with the Alan Jones Canadian All Star Sextet, which included notable musicians such as Seamus Blake and Ingrid Jensen.