There are few musicians today who cross stylistic borders with the ease and beauty of flutist Jim Walker. He is that rarest of musicians who is not only equally at home in both jazz and classical music, but excels at both with breathtaking virtuosity. His numerous recordings, performances, premieres and symposiums, along with his musicality, artistry and incredible showmanship make him an audience favorite.

Mr. Walker, a native of Kentucky, has been playing the flute since age ten. After graduating with honors from the University of Louisville's School of Music, he enlisted in the army and played in the USMA Band at West Point. In 1969 he became associate principal flutist with the Pittsburgh Symphony. Eight years later he went on to become the principal flutist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and on the side, a start in the recording studios for jazz/pop, television and motion pictures.

The move to LA crystallized Mr. Walker's desire to re-explore the rhythms and intellectual challenges of jazz, and in 1980 he formed the Jazz/classical quartet "Free Flight" with the flute as the lead instrument. In 1985, he decided to leave the Los Angeles Philharmonic in order to pursue a multifaceted career in jazz, studio work, chamber music, solo performances, publishing and teaching. This was quite a risk for a symphonic flutist, but Mr. Walker's many achievements have proven his instincts correct. His jazz quartet Free Flight has remained on the cutting edge of contemporary music making -- success coming in the form of ten recordings (including a number one record, Slice of Life on CBS Records). With additional acclaim for appearances on The Tonight Show , concerts at the Hollywood Bowl and Lincoln Center, plus annual tours and concertizing. Expert testimony from the jazz world comes from the eminent jazz critic Leonard Feather, who said Free Flight was "Combo of the Year." As a soloist, Jim has been featured on television and talk shows around the globe including two appearances on NBC's Today Show . Renown flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal wrote in his biography "Jimmy Walker is my favorite jazz flute player."

Last season included performances with the Lexington Philharmonic, Lexington, KY; the New Mexico Symphony, Las Cruces; the Linten Chamber Music Series in Cincinnati, OH; the New World Symphony in Miami, FL; the Flint Symphony Orchestra in Flint, MI; the Florida Flute Fair,; the Texas Flute Festival; MusicFest in Vancouver; the University of Montana Music Festival, Missoula; the CMTA Convention in Los Angeles; and the National Flute Association in Phoenix.

Past solo engagements have included: principal flute in the South American tour of the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta in 1982; Chamber Music Northwest; the Lost Angeles Symphony; the Owensboro, Nashville, Piedmont, South Dakota and Chatuaqua Symphonies; Music from Angel Fire; Kapulua Music Festival; Strings in the Mountain Festival of Music; and Bargemusic. Past Free Flight engagements with orchestras include: the Los Angeles Philharmonic; the Los Angeles Pops Orchestra; San Antonio Symphony; New World Symphony; Nashville Symphony; Kansas City Symphony; Reno Philharmonic; Phoenix Symphony; New Mexico Symphony; the South Dakota Symphony; Stockton Symphony, and the Owensboro Symphony to name a few.

Professor Walker is currently a full-time lecturer and coordinator of flute at the University of Southern Texas, and the University of Texas at Austin, as well as a master teacher for the New World Symphony. In addition, Mr. Walker is a Yamaha performing artist/clinician and has conducted flute master classes and clinics in the US, Canada, Europe, South America, Korea and Russia. He has collaborated with Wayne Shorter, James Galway, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Leonard Bernstein, Dudley Moore, Zubin Mehta and many others in concert and on recording projects.

Jim's involvement with recording, computers, and midi-technology dates back to the early 1980s. These skills combined with his love of teaching, prompted Warner Brothers Publications to produce "The Young Artist" series of study books and CDs for flute by Jim Walker. In 1997, Warner Brothers also released two new Free Flight recordings with play-along books. Mr. Walker is one of four performing artists (with Wynton Marsalis, James Galway and Eddie Daniels) to be named as a member of the Board of Advisors for "Smartmusic Studio," and for years he served as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Flute Association.

Mr. Walker's best-selling recordings include Free Flight/The Jazz Classical Union , Soaring , Beyond the Clouds , Illumination , Walker and Garson Play Gershwin , Slice of Life , Reflections , Flight of the Dove , Free Flight 2000 , and The Best of Free Flight . His solo and ethnic flutes are featured on many motion picture soundtracks including the blockbuster hit Titanic , Amistad , Seven Years in Tibet , The Joy Luck Club , Nell , Far and Away and A River Runs Through It . He has also been included in the orchestras for Forest Gump , Jurassic Park , The Lost World , Hook , Alien III & IV , the Back to the Future trilogy, Home Alone I & II , and hundreds more.

Mr. Walker currently resides in Los Angeles, California.