Sebastian Bachmeier is a saxophonist, composer, and arranger from Windsor, Ontario. He is known in the local music scene for his work with the Coffee House Combo, of which he is a founding member, and Stiletto Fire, for which he serves as the lead horn player and full-time saxophonist. The Coffee House Combo was the first local jazz group to host a weekly jam session in over a decade, filling Phog Lounge with virtuosic performers and enthusiastic audience members from both the Windsor-Essex area and abroad. This jam session has run for over four years, and is still running to this day. Stiletto Fire is Windsor’s most in-demand professional show band, performing all over Canada and across the United States. Their performances are thoroughly exciting both visually and musically, as Stiletto Fire is breaking new ground as one of the only bands using technology to blend their lighting, sound system, and live musicians.

Sebastian also performs regularly in pit orchestras, as a solo artist, and occasionally as music director. His past credits include Arts Collective Theatre’s 2018 production of Dreamgirls – a Windsor premiere – and the University Players’ 2018 production of A Streetcar Named Desire. He has performed with such artists as Windsor-born flautist Alexander Zonjic, subbed for local pop and soul groups Soul Delegation and the Family Soul, and during his university studies was chosen as a winner of the University of Windsor Concerto Competition and awarded the Ron W. Ianni Memorial Scholarship in Performance.

Sebastian has recorded in the studio for a number of local artists in addition to his live performances, on a wide range of instruments. Most recently he recorded parts for Windsor sensation Crissi Cochrane’s album, Heirloom. He can be heard on this album playing flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, and baritone saxophone. He has also appeared as a guest soloist on recordings by Ethan Brentnell and Madeline Doornaert.

Sebastian’s arrangements and original compositions have been showcased in several concerts and other performances of which he has been a part. Notable examples are the annual Rose City Christmas Cabaret, for which he has contributed arrangements ranging in style from swing to small wind ensemble, and his graduation recital, for which he presented a program of original compositions and arrangements for 12-piece jazz band. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sebastian was the first musician in the Windsor area to present high-caliber performances using distance recording techniques, and he continues to showcase highly skilled local musicians in his upcoming virtual projects.