Biography
John Nastos was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. There, he studied with local jazz luminaries like Warren Rand, Renato Caranto, and Thara Memory. Before he was out of high school, John was enrolled at Portland State University, studying under Darrell Grant, Alan Jones, Charles Gray, and Rob Scheps.After Portland State, John went on to get his Bachelor’s degree in jazz at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, where he finished the four-year undergraduate degree in just three years. While there, he had the opportunity to study composition and saxophone with Bob Mintzer, Dick Oatts, Steve Wilson, and Michael Abene.
John has performed around the Northwest and in New York City with groups and artists such as the Mel Brown Septet and B3 Quartet, Gordon Lee’s Big Band, Auditory Sculpture, Rob Scheps, Ben Darwish, Drew Shoals, Dan Schulte, and more. He has played at many major festivals, including the Mt. Hood Jazz Festival, Portland Jazz Festival, and Ellensburg Jazz Festival.
In addition to performing and teaching in Portland, John runs JazzPDX.org - a website about the Portland jazz scene.
Instruments: alto, tenor, soprano saxes; clarinet; flute; EWI