Who We Are

The Saxophone Cartel is:

Cam Collins - alto, soprano sax, clarinet: Cam Collins is originally from Columbus, Indiana, and grew up around music. Upon deciding to study music at the collegiate level, Cam began studies at the Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington. There, he studied saxophone with Dr. Thomas Walsh, and clarinet with James Campbell. During his second year in college, Cam auditioned for, and was accepted into, the U.S. Naval Academy Band as lead alto in the “Next Wave” jazz ensemble. Cam has performed as a soloist with many leading ensembles, including the Columbus Philharmonic, Indiana Ambassadors of Music, Carmel Symphony Orchestra, Pat Harbison Big Band, and most recently, lead alto saxophone with the Disneyland All American College Band. Cam has received numerous awards and honors for musicianship, like the Columbus Indiana Mayor’s Arts Award (2002), Esprit de Corps Award (2002), U.S. Marine Corps’ Semper Fidelis Award for Musical Excellence(2002), and the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award. Over the course of his career, Cam has appeared with many big names of the music industry, including Fred Hersch, Bill Watrous, Tom Kubis, John Clayton, Shelley Berg, Wayne Bergeron, Bobby Rydell, Steve Allee, Bob Florence, Gregg Field, Steve Houghton, Bill Warfield, Dave Samuels and Gary Foster, to name a few. He has studied privately with Rich Perry, Mark Turner, and Ellery Eskelin. Cam currently resides in Glen Burnie, Maryland.
Michael Eaton - alto, tenor sax, clarinet: Michael Eaton is from Liberty, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City. He attended IU-Bloomington from 1999-2004, studying saxophone with Eugene Rousseau and Tom Walsh. During his residency in the Bloomington and Indianapolis scenes, he was creatively involved in bands encompassing jazz, improvised music, western classical, rock, soul, and beyond, including the David Baker Sextet, the Steve Allee Big Band, the Buselli-Wallerab Jazz Orchestra,Rob Dixon's Triology, Kyle Quass, Art Deco Quartet, the Bloomington Pops, Monster Zero Orchestra, eclectic rock band Blue Moon Revue, rock/funk/jam band Montezuma's Revenge, Brandon Meeks Quartet, Üt Haus, and more. His flagship group, the (x)tet, was active for three years (album released in 2009 on Watercourse Records) and he organized two free improvised large ensembles: the 2006 BIASFest Coltrane Ascension, and the Michael Eaton Large/Large Ensemble (reminiscent of the Brötzmann Tentet). Michael has studied privately with James Moody, David Baker, Gary Foster, and Doug Webb. He has performed live in concert with David Baker, The Temptations, Sylvia McNair, Matt Darriau, Ingrid Jensen, Jim Snidero, Eugene Chadbourne, and Fred Hersch. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Lynn Ligammari - soprano, alto sax: Lynn Ligammari, a native of Niagara Falls, NY, holds a Bachelor's and Master's degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. Specializing in both Jazz and Classical saxophone, she has studied under the direction of Walt Weiskopf, Dave Schiavione, Fred Sturm, David Demsey, Chienkwan Lin, Ramon Ricker and Chris Azzara. Currently residing in Brooklyn, Lynn performs regularly with THOUGHT, The Al Chez Brothers of Funk band, The Sax Cartel, Hylofi, The Funktional Allstars, The LLDuo, The LL Quartet, and Mocean Worker. In addition, she has been fortunate to work and perform with Dick Oatts, Wycliffe Gordon, Les McCann, Mike Gordon (Phish), the Temptations, Harold Jones (Count Basie), Dave Rivello, and Rich Thompson. While at Eastman, Lynn performed in a number of ensembles including the Eastman Jazz Ensemble, New Jazz Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, Ossia, Chamber Ensemble and Jazz Performance workshop. As a freelance musician in Rochester, she was a member of the Dave Rivello Ensemble, the Music Educators Wind Ensemble, the Half-Ton Horns, M6 and the New Energy Big Band. As a music educator, Lynn has taught at the elementary through collegiate level and is currently employed as a Teaching Artist for the Lincoln Center Institute of the Arts, and Midori & Friends in New York, NY. Lynn is a Conn-Selmer Artist, and endorses Conn-Selmer Saxophones.
Morgan Price - soprano, alto, baritone sax, recorder: Morgan Price hails from Rockville, Maryland and started playing saxophone at the age of 9. Under the encouragement of his high school band director, Peter Perry, he discovered his passion for music. He enrolled at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 2002 and pursued a degree in jazz studies under the direction of David Baker and his saxophone professor Tom Walsh. While at IU, Morgan became deeply involved in the creative music scene, co-leading groups such as the (x)tet, Mojai and a large ensemble tributes to Charles Mingus; and playing in regional groups in a wide array of styles. Upon graduating with a Bachelors degree and a Performer's Certificate in 2007, Morgan moved back to the east coast. In his short career, he has played at venues such as Ravinia in Chicago and the Victor Wooten F.U.N.K. Fest in Indiana; the Kennedy Center and the Library of Congress in Washington, DC; and the Knitting Factory and the Abrons Arts Center in New York City, among other places. He has also been a jazz scholar at the Steans Institute for Young Artists and served on the faculty of Birch Creek , and currently serves as the music librarian for the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Morgan is dedicated to creative music endeavors and continues to involve himself in challenging projects, including his recent work in electronic music, under the pseudonym Eschatology. He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Colin Renick - alto, tenor, baritone sax, bass sax, bass clarinet: Colin Renick is a saxophonist/composer currently living in Annapolis, MD where he is active as bandleader, free-lance saxophonist, and composer/arranger in the Washington, DC/Baltimore area. A member of the United States Naval Academy Band since 2007, Mr. Renick earned Masters degrees in Classical Saxophone Performance and Jazz Studies from Indiana University, where he studied with Otis Murphy and David Baker while serving as Associate Instructor of both Saxophone and Jazz. Comfortable in a spectrum of musical styles from classical to free improvisation, he seeks to unite the broad landscape of his musical and non-musical influences with the spirit of the moment through his performances, improvisations, arrangements, and compositions.
Peter Sparacino - alto, tenor sax: A native of San Mateo, California, Peter began his musical life at age 9 playing clarinet in youth symphonies in the San Francisco Bay Area. However, while in high school, his band director urged him to be as versatile as possible and at 16 Peter began playing the saxophone. That summer he attended the Stanford Jazz Workshop, and the talent pool and great jazz artists on the faculty inspired him to begin studying jazz seriously. In 2002, he auditioned and was accepted into the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music jazz studies program, studying under saxophone professor Tom Walsh. During his time in Indiana, Peter played with many different groups and musical configurations, including the Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra, the Fort Wayne Symphony, and of course the Saxophone Cartel. After a post-college 6 month stint working on a cruise ship in the Caribbean, Peter moved back to San Francisco where he quickly immersed himself in the local music scene playing regularly with such notable Bay Area groups as the Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, the Fil Lorenz Collective West Jazz Orchestra, Bay Area salsa powerhouse Mazacote, the Tin Cup Serenade, the Vince Lateano Quartet, Stymie and the PJLO, and his own quartet/quintet as well as many others. In addition, he maintained an active teaching schedule, teaching privately, conducting clinics at local high schools, and teaching during the summer at the Young Musicians Program in Berkeley, CA. In the fall of 2008 Peter moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he currently resides.
Matt Thomas - alto, tenor sax: Matt Thomas is a professional saxophonist and ice skating instructor. He attended the University of Buffalo School of Music, where he performed with The Genkin Philharmonic. He is a founding memeber of powerhouse transcultural, postmodern ensemble, Third Space. He is a master of night life and enjoys close associations with cars. He is the proud caretaker of a personable parrot named Paquito, a bird known to enjoy rhythms and tonal music (especially Bach works for organ). (The official version coming soon.)