Ike Sturm is a bassist and composer based in New York focusing on the presentation of original music. He leads a 10-piece ensemble in collaborative music and visual art concerts with his sister, clarinetist and artist Madeline Sturm. He recently was named the Assistant Director of Music for the Jazz Ministry at Saint Peter’s Church in Manhattan, internationally regarded as the, "Jazz Church,” where he performs and composes original music for weekly jazz services.

He has performed with Gene Bertoncini, Bobby McFerrin, Maria Schneider, Kenny Wheeler and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. he has played on four "Downbeat" award-winning recordings as well as composer Steve Reich's most recent chamber music releases on canteloupe and nonesuch records. In june of 2003, he performed on albums with Ben Monder and Rich Perry.

He studied jazz and classical bass with professors Jeff Campbell and James Vandemark while earning both bachelors and masters degrees at the Eastman School of Music. In 1999, he was privileged to study with legendary bassist Dave Holland.

Ike lives in New York with his wife, soprano and teacher Misty Ann Sturm. "Spirit", his first CD, was released in early 2004.

Ensemble Biography

Integrating jazz and world rhythms in richly textured
original music, the New York-based Ike Sturm Ensemble fuses diverse influences into a unified, contemporary style. The unique voices of each of its ten improvising members speak to audiences within a saturated
environment of original artwork painted by artist and clarinetist Madeline Sturm to complement the sound and form of the music.

A grant from the Eastman School of Music in 2001 provided an opportunity for
the group’s first multimedia performance of Spirit, a three-movement suite by Ike Sturm. Reflect (Live DVD – 2003) is a through-composed six-part suite
using paintings, photographs and projected images to convey symmetry in God's creation.