Jim Galloway was born in Scotland on July 28, 1936. He studied clarinet in Glasgow in his early teens, and later doubled on alto playing with local bands.

In 1965 he moved to Canada where he added soprano and baritone sax to his collection and set about broadening his experience. In 1976, he was asked to take a band to the Montreux Festival (including Buddy Tate and Jay McShann), followed by a tour to Nice for George Wein, and a long European tour with Tate again. From then on he was a regular at jazz festivals everywhere, touring Europe as a soloist and at home in Canada leading his own quartet, sextet, and big band.(Jim Galloway's Wee Big Band).

Principal influences include Louis Armstrong, Jack Teagarden, Ed Hall, Coleman Hawkins, Don Byas, Ben Webster, Lester Young, Duke Ellington and Count Basie.

As well as performing in a busy playing schedule, Jim finds time to be artistic director of the annual du Maurier Downtown Toronto Jazz Festival.