ALL Jazz Fest 2019

Vincent Davis

Vincent Davis, born in Chicago is an internationally acclaimed jazz percussionist, composer and teacher. The seed of music was planted in Davis early, growing up in a home filled with the influences of rock, jazz and gospel. In 1979 Davis left Chicago to attend the Milwaukee Conservatory of Music, where his love of jazz and skill at drumming further bloomed and flourished. It was here that Davis met his mentor Manty Ellis. Davis trained and studied with Ellis, primarily focusing on Jazz trap drumming.

Isaiah Collier

Isaiah Collier is a model, arranger, composer and activist. Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. Collier grew being surround by music, bith his Parents sing and played music along with his siblings. An alumnus of the Jazz Institute of Chicago and The Chicago High School for the Performing Arts, Collier has worked and played with Chicago legends such as Willie Pickens, Delores Scott, Ernest Dawkins, Ari Brown, Dee Alexander, Maggie Brown, Robert Irving III, and Charles Heath IV, in addition to national and international artists Rene Marie, James Carter, Chance the Rapper, Stefon Harris, Roy McCurty, Carmen Bradford, Carl Allen, Bennie Maupin, Bobby Broom, Quincy Phillips, Lisa Henry, Wyclef Gordon, Lewis Nash and many more. Along with being apart of The Advance Association For Creative Musicians (AACM) who's members have gone on to be recipients of some of the most prestigious awards from Grammys, Pulitzers and the MacArthur genius grant.

Caroline Davis

Composer, saxophonist, and educator Caroline Davis lives in Brooklyn, New York. After making her mark on the Chicago jazz community during her 8-year stint there, she moved to New York in 2013, and has proven to be an active leader and sidewoman in the national jazz scene. She has shared musical moments with a diverse group of musicians, including Matt Wilson, Ellis Marsalis, Matt Mitchell, Randy Brecker, Bobby Broom, Greg Saunier, Ron Miles, Dennis Carroll, Erin McKeown, Allison Miller, Jenny Owen Youngs, and Billy Kaye. Aside from her own quintet, she collaborates regularly with R&B indie band, Maitri, and has been a regular member of many outfits including Whirlpool, Fatbook, Deep Fayed, Matt Mitchell’s Sprees, Billy Kaye Quintet, Paul Bedal Quintet, Orso, Chicago Jazz Orchestra, Caili O’Doherty Group, Dion Kerr Group, Elliot Ross, Charles Rumback Group, and Materials and Their Destiny. Her debut album, Live Work & Play, was featured on All About Jazz’s best releases,... Read More

Tony Barba

After residing in New York City and Chicago for the past fifteen years, saxophonist/composer Tony Barba relocated to Madison, WI in the summer of 2013 where he has quickly been making a significant impact on the local music scene. Tony's career has spanned many genres and bands, wether it be leading his own groups or freelancing as a much in demand sideman. Tony is also a current member of the Youngblood Brass Band, which has released six studio albums and has performed all over the world.

Matt Blair

Matt Blair is a pianist, composer, and educator who recently returned to Madison, WI. His work draws upon diverse musical traditions such as contemporary classical, electro-acoustic improvisation, free jazz, minimalism, and noise. In addition to his practice as a pianist, he incorporates extended electronic processing of the Fender Rhodes, synthesizers, and the computer in his music.

Since 2018, Matt has been releasing music on his label, Scribbled Fang Records. Recent releases have included Shadow Sets, a collection of compositions for solo piano that was produced by Dave King (The Bad Plus, Happy Apple), Post Rock Lately, the debut record of Collector, an improvising trio featuring Jakob Heinemann on bass and Devin Drobka on drums and electronics, and Flights and Poor Health Good Spirits, both releases by Big Thanks, a Minneapolis-based Trash House trio featuring Miles Allen on saxophone and clarinet and Jack Lussenden on drums. Other recent releases have included After... Read More

Michael Brenneis

Michael Brenneis has been an essential mover in the Madison improvised music community for twenty years. From his early work with Tomato Box and The Active Percussion Duo, to later projects such as Post Consumer Gnarl, The Ten Sleeps Trio, The Improvisor’s Workbench, and Executive Tea Set, he is consistently demolishing the boundaries of musical convention. In 2018 Michael was awarded an Artistic Development Grant by the Greater Madison Jazz Consortium to compose, record and premiere a large ensemble work entitled Plutonium. Also in 2018 Michael is recording a monthly series of improvised duets under the handle Deeds & Endeavors Part One, available on bandcamp: https://deedsone.bandcamp.com/. Michael also collaborates with many other Madison groups including The New Breed Jazz Jam, The Alison Margaret Jazz Quintet, The Anders Svanoe Double Trio, and Major Vistas.

John Christensen

John Christensen began his bass studies with Chris Wood and continued his formal education by attending Berklee College of Music summer sessions and finally attending University of North Texas music program. After deciding on a more personalized education program John moved to San Francisco to begin gigging and study with renowned educator Dick Hindman. In the Bay Area John played and recorded with numerous bands including his own band Dam East, Mark Levine, Victoria Williams, Slide Five, Scott Amendola, Hal Stein, and The New Morty Show among others. Since Moving to Madison in 1999 John has played with numerous local groups including Alison Margaret, Jan Wheaton, Harmonious Wail, Patrick Breiner, Dave Stoler, Kyle Henderson, Paul Hastil, Anders Svanoe and Gerri DeMaggio. John continues learning and growing in 2018 through Recording and performing collaborations with Louka Patenaude, Anthony Deutsch, Jamie Breiwick, Devin Drobka, Tony Barba and has shared the stage with such... Read More

Brennan Connors & Stray Passage

Experimental Jazz Trio Brennan Connors & Stray Passage has been performing in Madison for over three years, exciting listeners with their range of sonic capabilities. The breadth of a performance ranges from focused minimalism to fiery high energy music, all while maintaining a sense of narrative organization and compelling ensemble interplay. Repertoire includes original compositions, a few old favorite tunes, and raw improvisation. The group is led by Brennan Connors on tenor and soprano saxophones. Geoff Brady provides orchestrated drum and percussion textures & Brian Grimm who rounds out the trio playing cello, contra-cello, and electric bass.

Paul Dietrich

Paul is currently a resident of Madison, Wisconsin where he is an active member of the music scene. In addition to his own groups, he plays with the Darren Sterud Orchestra, the Madison Jazz Orchestra, the Neophonic Jazz Orchestra, the Ben Ferris Octet, and the Ben Ferris Quintet, whose 2016 album, Home, featured two of Paul's compositions. Paul is also active as an educator. In addition to a private studio, Paul is also the coordinator of the jazz program at Prairie Music & Arts, and directs the Madison East High School Jazz Orchestra.

Devin Drobka

Devin Drobka is one of the most in-demand and creative musicians in the midwest for the past 15 years. Audiences around the world have been enthralled with his wide sonic palette and limitless rhythmic possibilities on the drums. A deep love of jazz, metal, folk, hip-hop, ambient, idm, and classical music has helped shaped Devin’s unique voice and vision on the drums both as a leader and as a sideman. His highly personal and creative drumming can be heard within the realm of jazz having performed with Greg Osby, Jerry Bergonzi, Dayna Stephens, and Joe Lovano as well as indie- folk bands like Field Report and indie rappers R.A.P. Ferreira and Serengeti. Devin can be heard on over 50 albums of genre bending, original music for which he is an advocate for. Devin currently composes music for his newest group, The Devin Drobka Trio, which draws upon his love of contemporary classical music and minimalism and his multi horn group, Bell Dance Songs, which is a response to his love of... Read More

Lucas Gillan

Lucas Gillan is a drummer, composer, singer-songwriter, and music educator. His drumming has brought him to the top jazz and rock clubs in Chicago, like the Green Mill, the Jazz Showcase, Andy's Jazz Club, Lincoln Hall, Schubas and many more. He has toured around the country and has performed with jazz artists including Matt Ulery, Marquis Hill, Victor Garcia, Jim Gailloreto, East Hubbard Jazz Orchestra, John Goldman, Terry Bartolotta, and Dan Burke. He leads an original jazz quartet called Lucas Gillan's Many Blessings, with whom he has performed at Constellation, Elastic Arts, the Green Mill, the Whistler, the California Clipper, and the Old Town School of Folk Music, among many other venues. In June 2016, Many Blessings performed at the Jazz Record Art Collective, playing Lucas' original arrangements of every track from the 1956 LP Herbie Nichols Trio. Many Blessings' debut album, Arroyo, is set to be released on JeruJazz Records in 2017. Lucas is also the drummer in the Chicago... Read More

Paul Hastil

Over the past twenty years, keyboardist/composer Paul Hastil has performed with many talented jazz musicians on the scene in the Madison area. These have included Doc DeHaven, Gerri DiMaggio, Ray Rideout as well as those players newer to the scene, including Paul Dietrich, Alison Margaret, Ben Ferris, and Tony Barber. He is a member of the New Breed Trio with bassist Nick Moran and drummer Michael Brenneiss, which has hosted a weekly jam session for the past eight years. He has led a group performing his original compositions as part of the Indigenous Series, is a regular participant in the Isthmus Jazz Festival and has performed at the Telluride Jazz Festival and the Montava Music Festival in Montava, Italy. He has performed with Archie Shepp, Frank Morgan, Sheila Jordan, and David Binney.

Jakob Heinemann

Jakob Heinemann is a bass player, composer and educator from Madison, Wisconsin. Taking up the bass at age 10, he has worked in professional contexts since age 13, performing all over the Midwest at venues such as the Fox Valley Performing Arts Center, the Trout Museum of Art, Chicago's Park West Theatre, the Museum of Wisconsin Art, and the Overture Center for the Arts in Madison, in addition to a large majority of the jazz venues in Madison, Milwaukee and the Fox Valley area. These many years of playing experience have led him to work in a wide diversity of genres with many well-respected musicians, including Devin Drobka, Hal Rammel, Andrew Trim, Jon Deitemyer, Dane Richeson, Paul Hastil, and Qanun virtuoso Ali Paris. His recent projects include Indie-rock outfit Riverbug, the hip-hop/neo-soul collective Backpocket, and his ongoing original music jazz septet Good Trouble, in addition to work on his own music for quartet. Jakob graduated from Lawrence University with a degree in... Read More

Ben Phillips

Ben Phillips is a versatile trumpeter, composer, and bandleader who has performed all over the United States at venues including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (D.C.) and Millennium Park (Chicago), as well as international venues such as the Pudong Shangri-La Hotel in Shanghai, China, and the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Originally from Madison, WI, Ben holds a Bachelors Degree in Music Performance from Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, and a Masters Degree in Jazz Studies from DePaul University in Chicago, where he currently resides.

Jeremiah Hunt

While attending Florida A&M University, Jeremiah Hunt was selected to be apart of the 2009 Disney All-American college band, where he worked with Wycliff Gordon, John Clayton, Gordon Goodwin, Rick Baptist, & Ron McCurdy to name a few. Since then, Hunt has traveled around Europe & Asia, working with various international bands. He now resides in Chicago, where he has thrived in the music scene, playing with Jazz Masters such as Victor Goines, Bobby Broome, Pharez Whitted & countless others. While working with producer Randy Jackson(American Idol), Hunt released his first album with fusion funk group ‘The Main Squeeze’. Jeremiah is currently one of the most sought after bassist in Chicago, where he currently resides.

Anders Svanoe

Appearing on ECM Records, Pi Recordings and Irabbagast Records, saxophonist Anders Svanoe has brought new creativity and vigor to the baritone saxophone. As leader of the Anders Svanoe Trio, Double Trio, Latin Jazz Quintet, and member of The Transatlantic Art Ensemble (Roscoe Mitchell, Evan Parker, Craig Taborn, Barry Guy), The Roscoe Mitchell Big Band, The Cab Calloway Orchestra and numerous other bands throughout his carreer, Neil Tesser, author of The Playboy Guide to Jazz says, “Svanoe presents originality within the now decades-old tradition of free improvisation – a welcome, promising, and especially inventive presence as the music finds a new audience.”

As a member of The Transatlantic Art Ensemble, Anders recorded two noteworthy ECM recordings in Munich in 2004 (The Transatlantic Art Ensemble is Roscoe Mitchell’s Note Factory and Evan Parker’s Electro Acoustic Ensemble combined into one “all star” group). One of those recordings, Composition/Improvisation Nos. 1, 2... Read More

Rodrigo Villanueva

Drummer and composer, Mr. Rodrigo Villanueva holds a bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Jazz Studies from the University of North Texas. He has played and/or recorded with several jazz, classical and pop artists from Mexico, Perú, Korea, Japan and the U.S. Among them are Eddie Gomez, Stefan Karlsson, Lynn Seaton, Fareed Haque, Ed Saindon, Clark Terry, Eddie Henderson, Jimmy Owens, Liam Teague, Rodolfo Sanchez, Lee Tomboulian, Hiro Morozumi, Jangeun Bae, Carlos Guedes, Takayoshi Yoshioka, Jon Anderson, Carlos Prieto, Roberto Limón, Sandra Kaye, Carla White, and the Mexican pop icons Lucero and Alejandro Fernandez.

As a composer, he has arranged and/or sequenced music for pop artists and has published several original compositions for jazz big band. As an educator Mr. Villanueva has taught drum-set courses, clinics and workshops at many institutions in Mexico, Peru, Korea, Japan and the U.S. He is currently associate professor of jazz studies at Northern... Read More

John McCowen

John McCowen is a New York-based composer and performer. His work focuses on extending the possibilities of the clarinet family. John embraces long-form drones, difference tones, and beating harmonics as a means to extrude the dimensions within - treating the clarinet as an acoustic synthesizer.

John was an original member of the Chicago avant-rock group, Wei Zhongle, where he performed on clarinet/electronics. His discography includes releases on Edition Wandelweiser, International Anthem, Astral Spirits, NNA Tapes, and more. Performances include Le Guess Who Festival(NL), Norður og Niður Festival(IS), Hot Air Music Festival, Bowling Green New Music Festival, Supersonic Festival(ENG), Berkeley Art Museum(BAMPFA), The Stone, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, The International Clarinet Festival, and more. John was the 2017 artist-in-residence at Lijiang Studio in Yunnan, China. He received the... Read More

Robert Lundberg

Robert Lundberg makes music, takes photos, builds things, thinks about and drinks water. He has performed a wide range of music throughout the North America and Europe both solo and with outfits such as JOBS, Skeletons, Nestle, In One Wind, and Leverage Models at venues and festival such as Carnegie Hall, JVC Jazz Fest, Newport Folk Fest, and Big Ears Festival. His music has been released by New Atlantis, New Amsterdam, Ramp Local, Primary Records, Astral Spirits, and Shinkoyo/Artist Pool.

His photography, video, and installation work focuses on the interaction of human infrastructure and the "natural" spaces it inhabits. His work has been shown at SITE Santa Fe, Gallery 400, Bauhaus Archiv, Overture Center, Artists Space, and UW-Madison’s Gallery 7. He earned his BFA in Jazz Performance from The New School (New York) and is pursuing a JD and MS in Law and Environmental Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Additionally, he is a graduate... Read More

Ryan Packard

Ryan Packard is: a percussionist; composer; sound artist based in Chicago, IL.

Recent projects and collaborations explore the sonification of lived experiences through their accompanying objects and interpersonal relationships. A curiosity towards listening environments, physical space, and psychoacoustics drive the work as it seeks to promote a heightened state of consciousness even in the most understated spaces and moments.

He's been featured at places like: mca chicago, high concept labs, dfbrl8r, Galeria Labirynt, experimental sound studio, constellation chicago, elastic arts, random walks festival, b-sides festival, montréal nouvelles musiques. he has a masters of music from McGill University and bachelor of music from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

Jake Polancich

A musician and educator based in the Milwaukee area, Jake Polancich is the director of bands and music teacher leader at Arrowhead High School (Hartland, WI) where he oversees all aspects of the program including 4 concert bands, 2 jazz ensembles, marching band, percussion ensemble, and teaches Music Theory. As a drummer and percussionist, his most recent projects include performance/recording dates with the Ryan Meisel QuArtet and the Montauk Project (improvised drums/saxophone duo). He has performed and recorded with numerous bands and ensembles throughout the United States, Canada, England, Ireland, Italy, and the Republic of China. He continues to serve as a performer, conductor, presenter and adjudicator for various festivals and concerts. Jake is a proud endorser of ... Read More

Ryan Meisel

I am a musician, educator, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. I strive to share music that is original, unifying among musicians, and uplifting for the audience. My ensembles consist of original, strait-ahead, modern jazz with the "Meisel Music" duos, trios, quartets and the larger band called the Meisel Music Collecitve. "Montauk Project" is my creative music duo with drummer Jake Polancich, and "Two Owl Song", a spiritual ensemble co-lead with my wife Celia, featuring music for the earth and humanity. I teach k-8 music at Erin school, direct the Moraine band at the University of Wisconsin Washington County and bring the community together hosting open mic sessions in Hartford and Milwaukee.

Elisabeth Roskopf

Elisabeth Roskopf’s passion for dance began at age 6 and she has been dancing ever since. She graduated with a BA in Piano and a minor in Dance from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 2011. She is a company member with Li Chiao-Ping Dance in Madison, Wisconsin as well as a guest artist with Danceworks Performance Company, Wild Space Dance Company, Montauk Project, and an alumna of Catey Ott Dance Collective all in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Since the Spring of 2014, Elisabeth has been performing in the Lake Arts Project, directed by Jennifer Miller and Karl von Rabenau of the Milwaukee Ballet. Beginning in the Fall of 2015, and still ongoing, she choreographed and performed her solo works for MKE Follies and with Danceworks DanceLAB Get It Out There concert series. In add... Read More

Katharina Abderholden

Katharina began dancing at the age of 14 when she attended several ballet intensive programs. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for four years where she focused her studies on contemporary dance technique and choreography. While attending the university, Katharina was able to perform in works choreographed by Mark Morris, Arnie Zane, and Colleen Thomas. Professionally Katharina worked with Danceworks Milwaukee (USA), Le Marchepied (CH), and projects created by Stephen Kowplowitz(USA) and Cie Utilité Publique(CH).

ALL Jazz Fest 2019

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