For the past twenty years with four albums as a leader, several studio projects as a side man, and countless worldwide performances, saxophonist, vocalist and composer Juli Wood has established herself as a solid, swinging, lyrical and entertaining performer on Chicago’s music scene. Juli has played many jazz clubs and festivals nationally and internationally; Chicago Jazz Fest, Hyde Park Jazz Fest, Milwaukee’s Summerfest, Chicago’s main jazz clubs – Jazz Showcase, Green Mill, Andy’s and Katerina’s. Skansen Jazz and Blues (Stockholm , Sweden), Pori Jazz Fest (Finland), Bent J’s club (Aarhus, Denmark), Storyville (Helsinki Finland), Arlandia Jazz Fest (Aaland Islands, Finland) and the ” Made in Chicago ” jazz festival in Poznan Poland to name a few. " One of the pleasures of attending the Chicago Jazz Festival over Labor Day weekend each year is being able to hear the bevy of local players who make up the windy city jazz scene. Last year’s treat was Juli Wood, a gutsy tenor and baritone saxophonist who also sings with the earthy gusto of an R&B diva filtered through a hard bop sensibility."
Bill Milkowski – JAZZTIMES
Known for her adventurous, engaging music that heals the soul, pianist-composer-vocalist Deanna Witkowski moves with remarkable ease between Brazilian, jazz, classical, and sacred music. Her first book, Mary Lou Williams: Music For The Soul (Liturgical Press), published in September 2021, is the winner of the 2022 ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Award and the 2022 Jazz Journalists Association Award for Biography of the Year. Her seventh recording, Force of Nature (MCG Jazz), released in January 2022, reached number five on the JazzWeek nationwide radio chart and remained in the top ten most played albums on jazz radio for more than ten weeks. The two projects cap a twenty-year deep dive into the ground-breaking impact of Williams’ life and music, making Witkowski one of the few living authorities on the iconic pianist. As a sought after Williams expert, she has presented at the Kennedy Center, Duke University, Fordham University, and performed Williams’ compositions as a featured guest with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Witkowski’s explosive performances combine virtuosity and heart, telling stories that reveal her innate curiosity of the human condition. She has recorded with Grammy nominees John Patitucci, Kate McGarry, and Donny McCaslin, and has performed and toured with renowned vocalists Lizz Wright, Nnenna Freelon, Erin Bode, Filó Machado, and Vanessa Rubin.
A prolific choral composer, Witkowski has won multiple competitions for her concert and sacred works. Commissions and new compositions have been funded by organizations including the New York State Council on the Arts (for her Afro-Brazilian project, the Nossa Senhora Suite) and the Choral Arts Initiative PREMIERE|Project Festival.
Witkowski is a doctoral candidate in jazz studies at the University of Pittsburgh. Experience her work at deannajazz.com.
Juli and Deanna are going to present an evening of tunes written by Mary Lou Williams and also tunes by the early beboppers that she influenced and jammed with at Minton's in Harlem- Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.
Rounding out their quartet are John Tate on bass and Mike Schlick on drums.
TICKETS
General Admission $20
VIP $30
Student Tickets $15
Available at the door ONLY with valid student ID
