ABOUT US
Ken Ulansey
Soprano Saxophone
Ken Ulansey, Pennylvania Council for the Arts winner, plays alto and soprano sax and pennywhistle. He is a musical chameleon, having played contemporary classical music with Relache, jazz with his own award-winning band, Latin with Synthesis and Minas, and folk music with most of the area’s–and even the nation’s–leading songwriters. Besides leading his own wedding band (Philadelphia Magazine’s Best of Philly!) that specializes in Swing, Motown, Klezmer, Latin, Pop, Zydeco and Oldies, Ken has toured extensively in Europe, Asia and the States, played on nearly 200 recordings, and worked in collaboration with dancers, film-makers, poets and storytellers.
Giacomo DeAnnuntis
Alto Saxophone
Giacomo has been performing for over 40 years. He studied with several teachers, including Reginald Jackson, founding member of the Washington Saxophone Quartet, and he performed Classical saxophone music as a soloist at several churches in the Washington, DC, area.
In 1980 he formed a Washington, DC saxophone quartet, which performed Classical transcriptions and compositions at churches, retirement centers, nursing homes, and other venues in the Maryland suburbs of Washington until 1996. He started Saxadelphia in 2004 while performing in the Roxborough Symphony Orchestra in Philadelphia. Since 2015 he has been a member of the Philadelphia Doctors Chamber Orchestra.
Steve Bartlett
Tenor Saxophone
Steve Bartlett is a Baltimore native who has lived in Philadelphia for the past 20 years. He studied Classical piano as a child before taking up saxophone at age 14. After playing diverse genres from jazz to disco through college, Steve took a long hiatus from music to focus on his career as an architect. He is a principal with Philadelphia-based Ballinger, where he leads designs for academic science buildings. Steve picked up saxophone again some 12 years ago to teach his son the instrument, and hasn’t stopped playing since. He gigs regularly with his jazz combo, “MIss K and The Hot Notes” (https://misskandthehotnotes.com), and enjoys the rigor of playing written and arranged music again with Saxadelphia!
Bartholomew Bono
Baritone Saxophone
Bart began playing the tenor saxophone at age 10. His first teacher, Robert Keller, told him that unlike the violin, there was no single way to play the saxophone, and that he would have to find his own sound.
His early influences were Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, and Roland Kirk. Later, Bart studied with David Bilger, who had his own ideas about how the saxophone should sound.
He joined the Saxadelphia as a substitute in 2009, taking over the tenor chair in 2010, although he has also played the soprano, alto, or baritone parts when needed.
