Jeff Swanson’s Casefitter
media release:
Greg Artry – Drums
Born into a musical family, Gregory A. Artry Jr was exposed to the drum set at an early age. Throughout his childhood and teen years, Greg continued to study and play the drums alongside other instruments, such as piano, cello, and voice. He attended the University of Louisville upon receiving a scholarship to study jazz drum set. Gregory has toured and recorded with many of the world's greatest musicians, including Pharez Whitted, Bobby Broom, Melvin Rhyne, Ira Sullivan, Claudio Roditi, Alyssa Allgood, Kurt Elling, Zeshan Bagewadi, Steve Turre, Marquis Hill, Victor Goines, Jeff Swanson, Sonny Fortune, Bobby Watson, Richard Johnson, Sharel Cassity, and countless brilliant artists from around the globe. Diligently working to improve and expand his abilities, Gregory continues to perform, teach, and record across the globe.
Greg Ward – Alto Saxophone
Greg Ward is a saxophonist and composer that was born in Peoria, IL. Currently based in Chicago, Ward has had the opportunity to perform and record with a varied group of artists like Prefuse 73, Lupe Fiasco, Tortoise, William Parker, Andrew D'Angelo, and Mike Reed. In 2000, Ward began his studies at Northern Illinois University where he worked with Steve Duke, Fareed Haque, Ron Carter, and Joey Sellers. Already interested in composition, having the opportunity to compose for NIU's jazz combos deepened his understanding of the innerworkings of music. Also, working with composer and arranger, Joey Sellers, equipped Ward with some important tools to further explore this new love. Around his sophomore year in college, Ward started spending many nights performing in the jazz clubs of Chicago. Soon, he would meet another one of his mentors, saxophonist, Fred Anderson, who would later select him to host a jam session at the Velvet Lounge for four years. During this time period, Ward experienced much growth as a performer and composer and developed a vibrant community of performers, artists, dancers, and listeners. After graduating from NIU in 2004 with a degree in Jazz Studies/Saxophone Performance, Ward moved to Chicago and took advantage of every opportunity that was offered to him. Composing two pieces for the International Contemporary Ensemble, performing a quartet composition for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Chamber Music Series, composing Wings for the Peoria Ballet Company, and being commissioned by the Jazz Institute of Chicago for a new composition, which was performed at the Chicago Jazz Festival in 2009, are just a few of the many experiences that shaped Ward during his years in Chicago. In 2009, Ward decided to move to New York City. Almost immediately after he arrived in NYC, he began working with JazzReach, an NYC-based jazz education organization that shares multimedia programs throughout the US. In 2010, he would produce his first CD as a leader with his Chicago-based band, Fitted Shards. South Side Story received much critical acclaim, including "Recording of the Year" by the Chicago Tribune. Next, in 2011, Ward formed Phonic Juggernaut, which features Damion Reid on drums and Joe Sanders on bass. Together, they recorded and released a CD on Thirsty Ear Recordings that same year. Also, in 2011, Ward composed and performed a commission from the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra for a concerto for jazz quartet and string orchestra. In 2012, Ward was selected as one of the two New Music USA Van Lier Fellows. In 2014, he received a commission/residency from the Jazz Gallery and premiered Capturing Sunlight, which was an hour-long work for septet and included a short documentary by Diana Quinones Rivera. The Capturing Sunlight project was inspired by the life and work of Preston Jackson. Recently, Ward has collaborated with another composer, sound designer, and performer, Caleb Willitz. First, they composed the film score for Beresford Bennett's film, Pinch, which was an official selection of the 2015 San Diego Black Film Festival. Second, Ward and Willitz will be releasing an electro-acoustic project, Gaps and Spaces: Synoptic Optiks. Ward maintains an active international touring schedule with various ensembles and has recently been appointed to the faculty of the Jacob School of Music at Indiana University as Assistant Professor of Jazz Saxophone.
Dustin Laurenzi – Tenor Saxophone
Chicago saxophonist Dustin Laurenzi has developed a distinctly personal approach to improvisation and composition that has garnered the attention of the city's creative music community. Recognized for his "offbeat approach to articulating harmonies and constructing melodies" (NextBop), Laurenzi's music is inspired and informed by jazz, folk, improvised music, and contemporary classical music. His inventive improvisational sensibilities have made him a sought-after musician in many circles of Chicago's vibrant music scene. Laurenzi has been a leader/co-leader of his own projects, Twin Talk, Snaketime, and Natural Language, as well as a member of Matt Ulery’s Loom/Large, the Quentin Coaxum Quintet, and Katie Ernst's Little Words, among others. He has released several albums featuring his original compositions, including Twin Talk’s 2019 release Weaver (37d03d), praised by PopMatters as “inventive and exhilarating.” Most recently, Laurenzi released Snaketime: The Music of Moondog (Astral Spirits/Feeding Tube Records), featuring an octet of Chicago’s leading improvisers interpreting music by the iconoclastic street musician, poet, and composer. Laurenzi has toured extensively with Grammy award-winning artist Bon Iver, with performances at Coachella Music Festival, Primavera Sound, and the Hollywood Bowl, among others. He also appears on the band's critically acclaimed 2016 release 22, A Million. Laurenzi earned a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music in 2011. He has performed/recorded with Jeff Parker, Marquis Hill, Makaya McCraven, Matt Ulery, Russ Johnson, Bon Iver, Japanese Breakfast, and This Is The Kit, and has recently been featured at the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, and the Kennedy Center.
Paul Bedal – Keyboard
Paul Bedal is a pianist and composer based in Chicago, Il. Earning his Bachelor of Music in Studio Music and Jazz Performance at the University of Miami and his MFA in Film Composition from Columbia College Chicago, Paul has stayed active in the 2010’s writing for his own groups and contributing his pianistic efforts as a sideman. Paul is an Ears and Eyes, CAM Jazz and BACE Records recording artist, with his debut record “Chatter” being released in 2014. NYC Jazz Record music critic Ken Micallef writes, “Chatter is also a study in fascinating repetition: melodic and rhythm motifs are introduced and subtly altered as the soloists pursue counterpoint. It’s a cerebral work and the compositions and soloing throughout are superb.” Recently, Paul released his second record entitled "Mirrors", available on Bace Records. Nextbop critic Anthony Dean-Harris writes, “Everything comes together well on Mirrors, an album so well tempered that there’s just no way it could go wrong, an achievement for Bedal as a player, composer, and leader.” Paul’s latest release “In Reverse'“ received positive reviews in Chicago Magazine. Hrayr Attarian writes, “Bedal continues to mature as a composer, bandleader and improviser. In Reverse is his most sophisticated and personal recording to date. Its inventiveness and accessibility are thanks to Bedal’s brilliance— and that of his like-minded sidemen. Like most of Bedal’s work, In Reverse is simultaneously provocative and engaging, moving and thoughtful.” Paul has received recognition from Chicago's "Luminarts Cultural Foundation", receiving top prize in the 2015 composition contest and placing in the 2014 improvisation competition. Paul has also composed music for recent films including Chicagoan Ian Martin's feature film "Cooke Concrete", Sydney O’Haire’s “Being Here” and Lauren Bedal's short film "Airplay", which was nominated to the 2017 San Francisco Dance Film Festival.
Matt Ulery – Bass
Chicago based bassist/composer and bandleader, Matt Ulery, has developed an instantly recognizable sound. Known for his sweeping lyricism, unconventional phrase structures, expressionistic emotionalism, Ulery’s music, from small, diverse chamber ensembles to full orchestras, is informed by the entire spectrum of jazz, classical, rock, pop, and folk– specifically American, South American, Balkan, and other European folk styles. He has been performing for 23 years on upright, electric, and brass basses. For a decade, Ulery has been the leader of his own groups and frequent collaborator. Ulery has produced and released 8 albums of all original music under his name including three recent releases of critical acclaim, “By a Little Light,” “Wake an Echo,” and “In the Ivory,” on Dave Douglas’s Greenleaf Music record label in 2012-2014 and his latest, “Festival (2016),” and “Sifting Stars (2018)” on his own label, Woolgathering Records. Ulery earned a Master of Music degree at Depaul University and Bachelor’s degree in music composition at The Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University and has played in bands with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Fareed Haque, Howard Levy, Patricia Barber, Goran Ivanovic, Greg Ward, Jeff Parker, Zach Brock, Jimmy Chamberlin, Makaya McCraven, Marquis Hill and countless others. As a composer, Ulery has collaborated with diverse ensembles such as Eighth Blackbird, Miami String Quartet, New Millennium Orchestra of Chicago, Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Music Festival of Lexington, Axiom Brass, Wild Belle, and the Guimaraes (Portugal) Jazz Festival. When not touring parts of the U.S. and Europe, Matt is extremely active in the Chicago area music scenes and has performed with his own groups at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, NYC Winter Jazz Festival, Chicago Orchestra Hall, Millennium Park Pritzker Pavilion, Chicago Cultural Center, The Krannert Center, Jazz Showcase, The Metro, Chicago Jazz Festival, Hyde Park Jazz Festival, Chicago World Music Festival, and countless other fine music listening rooms. In addition to performing, recording, and writing, Ulery is on faculty at Loyola University Chicago and gives masterclasses and clinics nationwide. Matt Ulery leads and composes all the music for several of his own ensembles, including Sifting Stars Orchestra (orchestral art songs), Loom Large (jazz big band), Loom (jazz quintet), Pollinator (jazz brass band), By a Little Light Ensemble (chamber jazz nonet), string quintet, and various other pet projects including hosting a jazz jam every Monday night at The Whistler in Chicago.
Jeff Swanson – Guitar, compositions
Guitarist Jeff Swanson has made his unique voice and open mind a valued part of Chicago’s diverse music scene. He continues to focus the energies of his ambitious Case-fitter (2018) project on his second recording as a leader, Fathoms (2020). Released on BACE Records, Swanson's original compositions enchant listeners with their lush textural approaches to dense rhythmic constructions. The album features Paul Bedal on keyboards, Matt Ulery on electric bass, Greg Artry on drums and percussion with Dustin Laurenzi on tenor saxophone and Greg Ward on alto saxophone. The album creates a fresh boundless sound that seamlessly incorporates the worlds of jazz, rock, electronic music and chamber ensembles. A sum of its parts, the band flawlessly breathes life into Swanson's compositions on this dynamic recording date featuring some of Chicago's most unique and engaging musicians. As a composer, his work is also featured in the New York/Chicago based trio, Whirlpool. Featuring Caroline Davis and Charles Rumback, the group's first record This World and One More was released on Ears&Eyes Records in 2013. In 2015 the group released Dancing on the Inside, featuring Ron Miles on cornet. His original music has also been paired with saxophonist Artie Black in Living Bridge. The group’s first self-titled album featuring Marcus Evans and John Sims was released in February of 2016 on Ears&Eyes Records. A strong player in many disciplines, he has been featured at the Chicago Jazz Festival, Hyde Park Jazz Festival, Iowa City Jazz Festival, Chicago Gospel Festival. His adaptability and creativity as a guitarist have led him to perform and record with Dustin Laurenzi’s Natural Language, Quentin Coaxum Quintet, Wills McKenna Quintet, Juan Pastor’s Chinchano, Sam Trump, Jesse Palter, Connor Bernhard, Christopher McBride and more. Since earning his Bachelor’s in Jazz Performance from Northern Illinois University in 2010, Jeff has been a featured clinician at universities and schools across the country including Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, University of Colorado Boulder, Northern Illinois University, and Denver Schools of the Arts
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