Home » Jazz Musicians » Jacob Wutzke

Jacob Wutzke

Jacob Wutzke is a Montréal/Toronto based drummer, bandleader, author, composer and music educator. Noted for his exceptional technique, creativity and ability to listen and improvise in the moment, he has become an in-demand sideman in the jazz and creative music scenes and continues to compose and perform music regularly.

A staple of the Canadian music scene, he has performed and recorded with Caity Gyorgy, Allison Au, Nick Maclean Quartet, Ira Coleman, Jocelyn Gould, Pat LaBarbera, Sam Kirmayer, Brownman Ali and more. In 2022, Jacob organized a tribute group to the music of Tony Williams which performed and recorded under the direction of Williams' longtime bass player Ira Coleman. He has also self-published 3 drum method books to develop technique and phrasing that have become essential practice tools for drummers around the world.

A part of the 2019 Graduating Class of Humber College's Bachelor of Music program, as well as the 2022 Graduating Class of McGill University's Jazz Performance Master's Degree, Jacob is well-established in his local music scenes, as well as across Canada on National Tours of jazz clubs and jazz festivals. He is also a committed music educator and author, teaching private lessons and giving workshops at high schools and universities across Canada. He has been seen performing coast to coast at venues and festivals in Canada including the TD Edmonton Jazz Festival, The Rex Hotel (Toronto), Markham Jazz Festival, JazzFM Jazz Safari, JazzYYC Summer Festival, Jazz Bistro (Toronto), Steel City Jazz Festival, West End Cultural Centre (Winnipeg), the Banff Springs Hotel, and the TD Toronto Jazz Festival to name a few. He is also a committed music educator and teaches a full roster of students from all ages and levels of experience locally across Canada and internationally online.

The Jacob Wutzke Quartet's debut full-length album is releasing in early 2023 with singles starting in May 2022.

Jacob proudly plays and endorses Pergamon Cymbals.


Tags

30
Album Review

Jacob Wutzke: You Better Bet

Read "You Better Bet" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Jacob Wutzke, long an admirer of fellow drummer and composer Tony Williams, moved closer to Williams' orbit several years ago when acclaimed bassist Ira Coleman--who had performed and recorded with Williams in the 1980s and '90s-- relocated to Wutzke's home base in Montreal, Canada. After meeting Coleman, Wutzke proposed the idea of recording an album of Williams' music, to which Coleman replied that not only was he down with that but had in his possession Williams' entire repertoire including dozens ...

3
Radio & Podcasts

Harry Drabkin, Jacob Wutzke, Jackson Potter, Liz Cole and more

Read "Harry Drabkin, Jacob Wutzke, Jackson Potter, Liz Cole and more" reviewed by Benjamin Boddie


Today's Music--Right Now! Fantastic music by Harry Drabkin, Jacob Wutzke, Jackson Potter, Liz Cole, Joe Syrian, Renee Rosnes, Benjie Porecki, Allegra Levy, Scott Hamilton, Peter Erskine, Carl Allen, Steve Johns, David Caffey, Claire Martin, Jenny Hill, Theoretical Planets, Rick Roe, Judy Wexler, Eugenie Jones, Dave Stryker, MTB, Dan Moretti and more. Playlist Harry Drabkin “In Walked Bud" from Reincarnation Of A Lovebird (Harry Drabkin) 00:00 Jacob Wutzke “Sister Cheryl" from You Better Bet (Cellar Music Group) 06:23 Jackson ...

35
Album Review

Nick Maclean Quartet feat. Brownman Ali: Convergence

Read "Convergence" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


The Nick Maclean Quartet is a highly respected Canadian outfit, here featuring upper-echelon trumpeter Brownman Ali, marked by a deep reverence for the past and a bold leap into the future. Central to this album's appeal are its original compositions, which are not merely exercises in style but profound statements of artistic identity. These pieces are deeply influenced by the innovative spirit of Herbie Hancock's work in the 1960s, among other Blue Note Records artists during this fertile period for ...

38
Album Review

Mathieu Soucy: Recollecting

Read "Recollecting" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Guitarist Mathieu Soucy, a 2019 graduate of Canada's McGill University, in Montreal, hits the ground running with a splendid debut album, Recollecting, on which he guides a talented quartet of young musicians through seven of his engaging compositions plus Thelonious Monk's “Reflections" and the well-traveled Rodgers and Hart standard, “Where or When" (sung by Humber College alum Caity Gyorgy). Gyorgy is heard on one other number, “Thinker and a Fool," a bright samba whose cryptic lyric is ...

1
Album Review

Dennis Kwok Jazz Orchestra: Windward Bound

Read "Windward Bound" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Windward Bound, the debut recording by the Toronto-based Dennis Kwok Jazz Orchestra, consists of a six-part suite “for jazz orchestra and multiple woodwind soloist." It is perhaps more than coincidental that Kwok, who wrote and arranged the sequence of tone poems based in part on his teen-age memories of sailing on Lake Ontario, also plays alto, tenor, soprano and baritone saxophones, oboe, clarinet, flute, alto flute, piccolo and bass clarinet. In other words, multiple woodwinds. Versatile as ...

Read more articles
Primary Instrument

Drums

Location

Montreal

Willing to teach

Beginner to advanced

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

You Better Bet

Cellar Music Group
2025

buy

Road Warrior (single)

Browntasauras Records
2023

buy

Show Yourself

Independent
2023

buy

Dolphin Dance (single)

Browntasauras Records
2023

buy

Verboten (single)

Browntasauras Records
2023

buy

Wisdom of Aurelius...

Browntasauras Records
2023

buy

Dolphin Dance

From: Convergence
By Jacob Wutzke

Road Warrior

From: Road Warrior (single)
By Jacob Wutzke

Thinker and a Fool

From: Recollecting
By Jacob Wutzke

Lennie's Changes

From: Recollecting
By Jacob Wutzke

Ascension

From: Ascension
By Jacob Wutzke

Part III. A Flat Boat is a Fast Boat

From: Windward Bound
By Jacob Wutzke

Part VI. Red Right Returning

From: Windward Bound
By Jacob Wutzke

Part V. Elegy

From: Windward Bound
By Jacob Wutzke

Windward Bound

From: Windward Bound
By Jacob Wutzke

Windward Bound

From: Windward Bound
By Jacob Wutzke

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.