About 1 — Ethan Helm

Saxophonist and Composer

Ethan Helm is a New York-based saxophonist and composer known for his “lyrical, kinetic, brightly spiraling alto sax.” His newest album, Dreamscapes (2025), is a groundbreaking work for solo saxophone and electronics. Ethan leads the genre-hopping quintet “Cowboys & Frenchmen,” with whom he has released three albums on the Outside in Music record label that have led to frequent radio play, critical praise, and two U.S. tours. He has performed at jazz clubs, festivals, and concert halls the throughout the United States and Canada, lending his artistry to The Gil Evans Project and Miho Hazama’s m_unit, as well as on Broadway orchestras (Gypsy; Boop! The Musical) and global jazz fusion (Balkan Peppers, Svara). Ethan is commissioned to compose for jazz ensembles (Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Air Forces in Europe Band) and orchestras (American Composers Orchestra, The Chamber Orchestra at St. Matthew's), and writes music for dance and film. He has been a featured performer and presenter at conferences for the North American Saxophone Alliance and Jazz Education Network, and is the author of multiple books on saxophone technique and creative improvisation. Ethan grew up in a musical family in Southern California and holds degrees from Eastman School of Music and New York University. He is on faculty at NYU and Hofstra University.
- Dreamscapes‍ (click to listen) - ambient improvised jazz for solo saxophone and electronics.
- Cowboys & Frenchmen (click to listen) - jazz quintet with two US tours and performances in Italy and the DC Jazz Festival.
- Wet Electric (click to listen) - compositions and guided improvisations for saxophone, violin, piano, guitar, and drum set.
- Detroit Jazz Festival
- Monterey Jazz Festival
- Umbria Jazz Festival
- Carnegie Hall
- DC Jazz Festival
- Birdland
- The Blue Note
- Vibrato Grill Jazz
- Kuumbwa Jazz Center
“…smart, cohesive, and credible in a way like The Bad Plus or Mostly Other People Do The Killing, using virtuosic skills and rhythmic power to walk the line between irony and earnestness, with listenability as high a priority as group creativity. ★★★★” – Howard Mandel, DownBeat Magazine
“…macrocosmic musical vision” – Steve Provizer, ArtsFuse
ethanjhelm@gmail.com

“On the Threshold of Liberty,” Dreamscapes (2025)

Videos

Excerpts from Our Highway (2021)

Photos

(click photos to download)