Hello. I’ll be filling in for the great Dave Karr this Saturday with the Sam Miltich Group. Ahmed and the Creators will kick things off at 7pm. Hope to see you there. Details below!
Saturday March 7th – 8:30 pm
Sam Miltich / Brandon Wozniak Sam Miltich – Guitar, Brandon Wozniak – Saxophones, Chris Bates – Bass, Jay Epstein – Drums
7:00 Opening Set : Ahmed & the Creators Ahmed Abdulkarim – Trumpet, Doug Little – Tenor Sax, Dale Alexander – piano, Ted Olsen – bass, Bill Stieger – Drums
Dave King is one of the most celebrated drummers in modern jazz. His contributions to the Minneapolis and New York jazz scenes are incalculable, and his imagination and boundless enthusiasm behind (and around) the drum set are singular and stunning. He has performed in 75 countries on six continents, and has been a member of bands like The Bad Plus, Happy Apple, Halloween Alaska, 12 Rods, Love Cars, The Gang Font, and others. He has also recorded or performed with Bill Frisell, Joshua Redman, Jeff Beck, Tim Berne, Mason Jennings, Mark Morris Dance Company, Haley Bonar, Meat Beat Manifesto, Craig Taborn, Jason Moran, David Torn, Atmosphere, and many others.
Brandon Wozniak is one of Minnesota’s most exciting saxophonists. He returned to the Twin Cities in 2006 after six years in New York City and a six month stint in Shanghai, China. Brandon studied music at Indiana University with David Baker, and privately with Tom Walsh. Brandon performs regularly with Dave King’s (Bad Plus, Happy Apple drummer) Dave King Trucking Company with saxophonist Chris Speed, the Atlantis Quartet(City Pages Best Jazz Artist 2011, Star Tribune Best Jazz Artist 2012), the great drummer Eric Kamau Gravatt (Weather Report, McCoy Tyner), Bryan Nichols Quintet, Chris Bates Red 5, PBR Street Gang, Lars Larson’s Mancrush, Cory Healey’s Beautiful Happy Sunshine Band, Steve Kenny Quartet and DD7. Brandon has also performed with singer Nellie McKay, toured with the Tommy Dorsey Jazz Orchestra and shared the stage with organ great Dr. Lonnie Smith, Jonathan Kreisberg, Francisco Mela (Joe Lovano’s US Five), Steve Davis, David Berkman and Dennis Gonzalez.
Anthony Cox’s career has spanned over 30 years encompassing music education, composition, and performance that include an extensive list of collaborations, performances, and recordings with notable artists in the field of jazz. The list includes Sam Rivers, Joe Lovano, Geri Allen, Kenny Wheeler, Ed Blackwell, Billy Higgins, John Scofield, The NDR Big Band, Dino Saluzzi, and Henry Threadgill.
In fall 2017, Brandon Wozniak and Bryan Nichols were playing a gig and got to talking about their mutual love of the Stan Getz/Kenny Barron duet album “People Time,” and how fun it might be to do our own recording in a similar vein. Thanks to Andrew Walesch at the Dunsmore Room at Crooner’s, a premier listening room in the Twin Cities, we have the opportunity to document two live concerts showcasing our intimate explorations of our own music and jazz standards, and a near-telepathic interplay forged in a decade mutual experience in a variety of Twin Cities best jazz groups, as well as casual duet settings. With two of the Twin Cities most in-demand musicians, a beautiful Steinway D and listening room, and the added intensity of live recording, these are must-see events.
Bryan Nichols + Brandon Wozniak Live Album Recording
If that’s not enough excitement, I’ll be playing with the Atlantis Quartet on Monday at the Icehouse. This will be our last performance before we head into the studio to record our 5th album. Ticket Info!
Thanks for checking in and I hope to see you at one of the shows. BW
Hi jazz fans. I’ve been really bad about updating my website so I hope you all don’t crash my site to feast on the new content once I post this to facebook, America’s # 1 source for news and fighting with one another. I’m not trying to write a book here so I’ll just say that I’m playing with a couple fun groups this week and we’d love to see you at the shows.
First up is Thursday Night Jazz at Reverie with the
Pete Hennig Quartet
Thursday May 25th – 9:00pm – Pete Hennig Quartet
With Pete Hennig – Drums, Brandon Wozniak – Tenor Sax,
Brian Ziemniak – keyboards, and Yohannes Tona – Bass
I submit the first picture collage made to entice you.
Too late, you’re enticed. See you there.
Gig # 2
Park Evans 5-tet & Selby Brass Band Saturday Night Jazz at the Blackdog
Saturday May 27th – 8:30pm
Park Evans – Guitar, Brandon Wozniak – Tenor Sax,
Steve Kenny – FLUMPET,Cody McKinney – Bass,
Greg Schutte – Drums
7:00pm Opening Set : The Selby Brass Band
With Larry Sims – Trumpet, Chris Fulton- Trombone,
Marilyn Parker – Sax, Tom Wells – Tuba, Trenon Graham – Drums
You probably thought there was no way in H E double hockey sticks that I would be able to produce another picture collage. Wrong and I’m not sleeping in that pic. Thanks for checking out my site and look for the next post in 2018.
9/9/16
I’ll be playing with my friend Anthony Cox this weekend with two different groups. First up is Anthony’s new quartet at Walker West Music Academy for the kick-off of the 2016 Selby Avenue Jazzfest. This quartet also features Peter Schimke on piano and Rodney Ruckus on drums. (8pm)
Walker West Executive Director Peter Leggett:Join me on Friday, September 9th at Walker West Music Academy for the official kick-off to the 2016 Selby Avenue JazzFest with a performance led by bassist Anthony Cox featuring Rodney Ruckus on drums, Peter Schimke on piano, & Brandon Wozniak on saxophone. This concert is free and open to the public thanks to the Selby Jazz Fest & the Central Selby Association.
9/10/16
Saturday night Anthony and I will meet up with our friends Dave King and Dean Granros when Vector Families returns to the Blackdog for Steve Kenny’s Saturday Night Jazz at the Blackdog series. (8:30pm)
9/15 & 9/16 Atlantis Quartet is celebrating 10 years as a band this month with a couple performances at Vieux Carre. We had hoped to have a new record out by now but 3/4 of the group decided to make babies before we all get too old to chase them around. We’ve been rehearsing the new songs and should have another record out in early 2017 but we have some fun things planned for the 10 year anniversary at Vieux Carre so come down and celebrate with us. (9pm)
Time to stop being lazy and record (GoPro) my journey to jazz stardom. I’ve noticed many musicians out there snapfacing, posting videos of themselves practicing or documenting their progress on their first cd which will surely get them on all the european jazz festivals right out of the gate. It’s an exciting time for sure so thanks for the inspirational vids and be on the lookout for my practice video series called “Brandon’s Improvisation Dojo” which should be out around never. I’m kidding…kind of but I actually do have some exciting news to share with everyone!
The Dave King Trucking Company released our third record called Surrounded by the Night on Sunny Side Records. It’s getting some nice reviews and all kidding aside, it turned out great and we think/hope you’ll like it. Bringing merch to our shows is not our strong suit but hopefully we’ll have some copies available this weekend for the CD release. Dates and info below.
Come celebrate the release of MANCRUSH’s first album “Authentic Midwestern” on Friday, March 18th at Vieux Carre in downtown St. Paul.
Show begins at 9pm – 2 Sets
Led by the musical and aesthetic vision of drummer and composer Lars-Erik Larson, MANCRUSH creates a musical landscape that encourages listeners to find and appreciate the beauty within intentional simplicity. Influenced heavily by minimalism, folk, and pop music, MANCRUSH has created a sound that seeks to serve the song above all else.
Bryan Nichols, piano Brandon Wozniak, saxophone Jake Baldwin, trumpet Jeff Bailey, bass JT Bates, drums
Here’s your chance to revel in music from some of jazz’s biggest, boldest greats from our own time zone—and discover how the spirit in our own city connects with these innovators.
Think Charlie “Bird” Parker. And Lester Young, who cut his teeth in Minneapolis’ clubs in the ’20s. Bix Beiderbecke, whose sound was so pretty, Louis Armstrong himself spoke of its beauty, and whose fluid melodies inspired the Hoagy Carmichael classic, Stardust. And of course the great Ornette Coleman, whose free jazz restored the music’s fundamental spirit at the same time it pointed to the future. In this concert, Minneapolis-based pianist Bryan Nichols returns to the Atrium to lead the AJE through music from Charlie Parker, Ornette Coleman and others—exploring the singular musical contributions of some of jazz’s great iconoclasts.
Jazz in the Target Atrium’s 2015-16 Season: The New Regionalism
This season, Jazz in the Target Atrium celebrates our region’s vibrancy and adds a Twin Cities twist to the story of jazz as written in legendary halls across the country. This great American art form has been nurtured in many ways, from New Orleans and New York to Chicago, Kansas City and beyond. Now the Atrium Jazz Ensemble steps up to take its place among the musicians who guide jazz into the future.
The Atrium Jazz Ensemble—the house orchestra for Jazz in the Target Atrium at Orchestra Hall, led by Artistic Director Jeremy Walker—is a fluid group whose size shifts with the programs. Performing are some of the region’s finest musicians and composers, presenting original music rooted in jazz found anywhere from Texas to our own twin towns.
Bryan Nichols, piano