Atlantis Quartet @ Crooners 9/17 – 9pm!

Dave King Trucking Company West Coast Tour!

Dave King Trucking Company West Coast Tour! Hope to see you out at one of these shows. XOXO

Pete Hennig 4-tet & Park Evans 5-tet

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.

More content:

 

Babatunde Lea Sextet premiers New Rituals of Unity Suite

Babatunde – photo by-Curtis-Thomson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Saturday, December 17, Jazz At Studio Z presents the Babatunde Lea Sextet premiering the “New Rituals of Unity” suite, co-composed by Babatunde Lea and sideman Zacc Harris, based on a series of traditional West African chants.

As always, the concert will feature two sets of music starting at 7p with a master class preceding it at 6p. For this show’s master class, we will be doing a live podcast for the second time, presenting a conversation with Lea in front of a live audience.

Advanced tickets are available for $10 at http://www.studiozstpaul.com/jasz-121716.html or tickets can be purchased at the door for $15.

Babatunde Lea – percussion
Brandon Wozniak – tenor saxophone
JC Sanford – trombone
Zacc Harris – guitar
Phil Aaron – piano
Graydon Peterson – bass

About the Artist:

Babatunde Lea’s vast experience of over 50 years as a master percussionist, as well as the spiritual depth and resonance he brings to everything he does, has made him one of the most esteemed musicians of the past half century. The way that music connects with audiences and with the rhythms of our everyday lives is essential to his musical philosophy: “I draw a lot from African culture, and one of the main things I’ve come to understand is that music is functional; in African culture, music accompanies everything… from birth ceremonies to funerals. The music is there to open people up to the deepest experiences of life. Music is a resource like oil or water; it does the bidding of who controls it. For my part, I know exactly what I want done with the energy I create with my music. It is my wish that my music will empower people to look within and become agents of peace and change in their hearts, in their families and in the world at large.”
He has performed and recorded with luminaries such as Stan Getz, Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Van Morrison, Leon Thomas, and Pharoah Sanders.

About the Master Class:

At 6p, JASZ will record the second episode of the Jazz At Studio Z Podcast, presenting a conversation about music with Babatunde and a live audience. All are welcome to attend.

–Studio Z is located on the second floor of the Northwestern Building in lowertown St. Paul, at 275 E 4th Street, on the corner of 4th and Wall. There is street parking available plus several lots, including the Farmers Market and the Union Depot lots.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Also, a big thanks to our sponsors:

Riverview Wine Bar
​Total Freedom Realty
Saturday Night Jazz At the Black Dog

More info at
www.jazzatstudioz.org

Anthony Cox 4-tet, Vector Families & Atlantis Quartet

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)

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July Performances 2016 USA/Practice Video Series

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.

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July Dates

DAVE KING TRUCKING COMPANY MINI-TOUR/CD RELEASE
– July 15 & 16 @ Vieux Carre – St. Paul, MN   9pm
– July 17 @ Hungry Brain – Chicago, IL –  Gig Info Chicago Reader
– July 18 @ Bay View United Methodist Church – Milwaukee, WI 7pm
(With Hanging Hearts!)

ATLANTIS QUARTET
July 24th @ Rochester Jazz Festival

We’re excited to be headlining the 2016 Rochester Jazz Festival. If you’re in the Rochester City area please come down and say hello.

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Thanks for checking in. More to come soon!

BW

Mancrush CD Release at Vieux Carre – March 18th

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.

MANCRUSH is:

Lars-Erik Larson – drums and cymbals
Brandon Wozniak – tenor saxophone
Bryan Nichols – keyboard
Zacc Harris – guitar

Mancrush1

The Idiosyncrats: Parker, Ornette & the AJE

JAZZ IN THE TARGET ATRIUM – Feb. 25th  8pm

Bryan Nichols IdiosyncratsBryan 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.

Ticket Info

WINTER JAZZFEST NYC 2016

Hello,

I’m happy to announce that I’ll be performing two shows with two great bands at this years 2016 WINTER JAZZFEST in NYC. Dave King is the artist in residence for 2016 and I’ll be performing with Dave King Trucking Company and a new group called Vector Families with Anthony Cox and Dean Granros! There are tons of great groups performing so if you’re in NYC you should check it out.

Vector Families Studio Z

VECTOR FAMILIES (Photo by Andrea Canter)

FRIDAY JAN 15 2016 SCHEDULE

The New School Jazz Building Glass Box Theater – 55 West 13th Street

6:40pm – James Carney Sextet

8:00pm – James Francies’ Kinetic

9:20pm – Naytronix

10:40pm – Dave King Trucking Co.

12:00am – Oscar Noriega Quartet

SATURDAY JAN 16 2016 SCHEDULE

The New School Jazz Building Glass Box Theater – 55 West 13th Street

6:40pm – TBA

8:00pm – Sofia Rei

9:20pm – Vector Families feat. Dave King, Anthony Cox, Dean Granros & Brandon Wozniak

10:40pm – Rez Abbasi’s Junction

12:00am – Brandon Seabrook Power Plant

You can view the full line up of performers, dates and ticket info at www.winterjazzfest.com

Happy New Year!

BW

 

Atlantis Quartet @ Vieux Carre 11/13/15

Hello,

I’ve been off the scene for a little bit. Katie and I had a beautiful baby girl two weeks ago and we named her Rita. I hate being away from her but our target gift cards will run out at some point in the near future so back to work it is. We had a very nice gig at Vieux Carre back in August and look forward to playing there tomorrow evening.

Atlantis Quartet – Vieux Carre – 9pm – 11/13/15

Brandon Wozniak
Pete Hennig
Zacc Harris
Chris Bates

We have a few other shows coming up too. Deets below!

11/20/15 – The Grand Kabaret – New Ulm, MN

12/4/15 – The Nicollet

12/5/15 – Blackdog Coffee Shop