Kenny Reichert Quartet

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Jerusha Schoenhoff

Kenny Reichert

media release: Kenny Reichert - Guitar; Tony Barba - Woodwinds; John Christensen - Bass; Devin Drobka - Drums

A native of Brookfield, Wisconsin, Kenny Reichert began his study of classical piano at age 5 and guitar at age 12. He started his jazz studies with guitarist Roger Brotherhood and joined the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra and Wisconsin Conservatory of Music jazz programs. After attending Berklee College of Music, Kenny returned to Milwaukee and finished his studies in Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Jazz Studies at DePaul University and was a 2022 Luminarts Cultural Foundation Jazz Improvisation Fellow.

Tony Barba is a saxophonist/educator/producer whose career has spanned the last twenty-five years. Originally hailing from Acton, Massachusetts and previously living in NYC and Chicago, Tony has resided in Madison, Wisconsin since 2013. He has performed, taught and toured professionally all over the world. A long standing member of the globe trotting Youngblood Brass Band, Tony has also performed and recorded with such notable and diverse artists as Makaya McCraven, Bon Iver, David Murray, Josh Ritter, the Mountain Goats, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, and the Temptations. In Madison he is currently a member of Acoplados, Golpe Tierra, Immigre, Michael Brenneiss Plutonium, and the Paul Dietrich Jazz Orchestra. He co-leads the organ quartet Barbacoa and the improvised duo project Outside the Sphere with drummer Michael Brenneis. Additionally, Tony leads Blood Moon, a new quartet with an album of all original music which is slated to be released in the spring of 2020. He also has recently released two solo albums featuring saxophone and electronic manipulation entitled Winters Arms (2016) and Ether (2019). Tony has been the instructor of the Memorial High School Jazz Band since 2017 and has a growing private studio of saxophone students.

John Christensen supplies an open-hearted solidity and adventurous spirit to all of his music endeavors. With an appetite for expressing in many musical genres and situations, John has found a unique compositional voice, as demonstrated on his highly acclaimed debut album as a leader, Dear Friend.

While an ardent student and practitioner of improvised Black American Music, Johns music also has deep roots in Rock, Folk, and Americana. Content to have his bass playing compared to Charlie Hadens lyricism, as in reviews for Johannes Wallmanns latest album Precarious Towers, hes also happy to have comparisons difficult to find. His compositions strive toward a hopefulness and appreciation for the beauty and awe of life, and the wonder of small, important things.

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 Devins 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 Albert Ayler, Paul Motian, and Ornette Coleman. Devins music has been described as sounding like nothing else in midwestern jazz and gorgerous, innovative.