Results for "Chicago"

Geof Bradfield

Born: June 30, 1970

Saxophonist and composer Geof Bradfield blends modern jazz, African rhythms, and the roots music of his native South into a style that is “explicitly adventurous and forward-looking” (AllAboutJazz.com). Born in Houston and based in Chicago, Bradfield has performed throughout North America, Europe, Russia, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, sharing the stage and recording studio with artists such as Randy Weston, Dana Hall, Clark Sommers, Brian Blade, Ben Goldberg, Anna Webber, Orrin Evans, Jeff Parker, Matt Ulery, and Ryan Cohan. His work is featured on 50+ CDs including ten albums as a leader that have garnered critical accolades from the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and NPR. He has received grants and awards from Chamber Music America, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, DCASE, Illinois Arts Council, and the Mellon Foundation. The Downbeat Critics Poll has named him a Rising Star Tenor Saxophonist and Arranger multiple years.

Art Ensemble Of Chicago

The Art Ensemble of Chicago is an avant-garde jazz ensemble that grew out of Chicago's AACM in the late 1960s. The group continues to tour and record through 2006, despite the deaths of two of the founding members. The Art Ensemble is notable for its integration of musical styles spanning jazz's entire history and for their multi-instrumentalism, especially the use of what they termed "little instruments" in addition to the traditional jazz lineup; "little instruments" can include bicycle horns, bells, birthday party noisemakers, wind chimes, and a vast array of percussion instruments (including found objects)

Jason Adasiewicz

Vibraphonist, drummer, and composer. He is an integral member of Chicago’s jazz and improvised music scene, bringing his aggressive yet lyrical style to over 10 working Chicago groups, including Rob Mazurek’s Starlicker and Exploding Star Orchestra, Mike Reed’s Loose Assembly, Peter Brotzmann:Jason Adasiewicz Duo, Nicole Mitchell’s Ice Crystals, Josh Berman and His Gang, Ingebrigt Häker Flaten Chicago Sextet, James Falzone’s Klang and Ken Vandermark’s Topology and Midwest School. Adasiewicz performs frequently in Europe and is a member of groups lead by Peter Brotzmann, Mats Gustafsson, and Stefano Bollani

Chris Greene

Born: August 28, 1973

Saxophonist and composer Chris Greene was born in Evanston, IL. He spent his formative years in the award-winning Evanston High School Wind and Jazz Ensembles. As a teenager he began to play professionally with many local pop/rock and jazz bands. Greene eventually went to Bloomington, IN to attend the prestigious Indiana University Jazz Studies program and studied with renowned professor and cellist David Baker. Greene returned to Chicago in 1994 and has since collaborated with some of the nation’s most creative and versatile musicians. As a performer, Greene can be seen with many different groups - in many different genres

Paul Abella

Born: March 1, 1975

The Paul Abella Trio is here to get its groove on. Their agenda is simple: to make jazz fun again. While many bands talk about their eclecticism, the paul abella trio walks the walk. Seamlessly melding Jazz improvisation, Brazilian and funk rhythms and rock tunes, they walk the line between jazz combo and jam band like the Flying Wallendas on a tightrope. I could regale you with the story of how we all met, came together and started off playing jazz standards before morphing into whatever it is that we are now. But the fact is, that stuff doesn't matter. What does matter is that people are tuning into our brand of people music that claims everything from Bach to breakbeats as influences

Dave Rempis

Born: March 24, 1975

Saxophonist, improviser, and composer Dave Rempis has been an integral part of the thriving Chicago jazz and improvised music scene since 1997. With a background in ethnomusicology and African studies at Northwestern University, including a year spent at the University of Ghana, Rempis burst onto the creative music scene at the age of 22 when he was asked to join the now-legendary Chicago jazz outfit The Vandermark Five. This opportunity catapulted him to notoriety as he began to tour regularly throughout the US and Europe, an active schedule that he still maintains to the present day. At the same time, Rempis began to develop the many Chicago-based groups for which he’s currently known, including The Rempis Percussion Quartet, The Engines, Ballister, Rempis/Abrams/Ra, Wheelhouse, Triage, The Rempis/Rosaly Duo, and The Rempis/Daisy Duo

Daniel Bruce

Born: June 15, 1976

Daniel Bruce has been performing music on a professional level since the age of seventeen when he began playing and recording with local acts in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio. He attended Bowling Green State University on a music scholarship, where he studied both classical and jazz guitar. Daniel has held faculty positions at Muskingum College and Cuyahoga Community College, where he taught ear training, jazz history, and applied guitar. In 2004 Daniel was awarded a graduate teaching fellowship at the University of North Texas, where he directed a lab band and two guitar ensembles, and taught applied jazz guitar while pursuing a master's degree in jazz studies

Mike Reed

Born: May 26, 1974

Mike Reed (b. Bielefeld, Germany May 26, 1974) is a musician, composer, bandleader and arts presenter based in Chicago. Over the last two decades he has emerged as a dominant force within Chicago’s diverse artistic community, both through the music he makes and the live events he produces. In addition to leading or co-leading several working bands, all rooted deeply in jazz and improvised music, he’s founding director of the Pitchfork Music Festival, the current programming chair of the Chicago Jazz Festival, and the owner and director of the acclaimed performing arts venue Constellation. He is a devoted cultural advocate committed to providing platforms for artistic expression unhindered by commercial pressures. In 2016 he also became the owner of the Hungry Brain, a cozy neighborhood tavern that’s been a fulcrum for live creative music and socially-driven public programs.

Abigail Riccards

Born: December 19, 1980

Since arriving on the New York scene in 2003, vocalist Abigail Riccards has garnered much attention from the jazz community for her effortless swing, heartbreaking tone, and personalized approach to lyrics. Abigail's inimitable approach to the Great American Songbook has made her one of the most celebrated jazz vocalists of her generation. In 2000, she was also selected to participate in the Jazz in July workshop at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and competed in the 2006 Fish Middleton Competition, where she was a semi-finalist. In 2004, Abigail was selected to be a semi-finalist in the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, where she competed at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C for judges such as Kurt Elling, Al Jarreau, Jimmy Scott and Dee Dee Bridgewater

Tommy Muellner

Born: January 25

Tommy Muellner is a highly respected Chicago born jazz pianist and composer. He has received critical acclaim from aficionados and statesmen throughout the jazz world for his piano acumen and creativity. He has an uncanny understanding of harmonic movement, improvisation and musical interplay. Playboy magazine critic Neil Tesser cites Tommy as “a pianist and tunesmith of stellar magnitude.” Mike Drew of the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal says, “Like the late keyboard master Bill Evans, Tom finds classic gems, and creates lyrical variations.” And this from Hammond organ master Joey DeFrancesco, “Tommy swings, grooves, is soulful, and in total command of his instrument, plus I love him, he’s one of my favorites!” As a bandleader, Tommy has performed for large concert venues as well as many prestigious jazz clubs