Sam Bishoff is a young upcoming saxophonist, arranger, and teacher in the Philadelphia area. Sam is currently finishing up his last semester at Temple University, where he is pursuing a Bachelor’s of Music in Jazz Studies. He has studied under Dick Oatts, Ben Schachter, Tim Warfield, Greg Kettinger, as well as Seattle legend Alexey Nikolaev. Sam has performed with such musicians as Larry McKenna, Dan Monaghan, Mike Frank, and Mike Crotty.

Originally from Portland, Oregon, Sam Bishoff grew up on an island off the shores of Seattle. He was exposed to a wide range of music from early on, and spent many hours listening to cassette tapes in his room. Sam soon became a fan of B.B. King and through his subsequent interest in the blues world, became exposed to jazz. Knowing he wanted to someday play jazz, Sam picked up the tenor saxophone in 5th grade. Two years later he did just that, starting formal lessons and diving deeper into the jazz world. He excelled musically in high school, frequently placing in state and national wind bands and placing at state classical solo competitions. Shortly before graduating, Sam had the opportunity to play in the regionally renowned Bellevue College jazz band under Hal Sherman and Jim Sisko.

Upon moving on to Temple University, Sam began to build his career in Philadelphia. He has studied with a long list of world-class faculty at Temple, including: Carla Cook, Bruce Barth, Tom Lawton, and Frank Mazzeo. He was also given an opportunity to study for a semester in Amsterdam at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, working with Ferdinand Povel and Joris Roelofs, among others. Sam has played in Seattle’s Benaroya Hall and Tula’s Jazz Club, the Kennedy Center, the Temple Performing Arts Center, the Philadelphia Clef Club, Chris’ Jazz Café, and many other Philadelphia area venues