Guitarist Louka Patenaude recently released his third album as a leader, Testing Your Patience. He plays with Tony Castaneda’s award-winning Latin Jazz Band and with Ben Sidran’s group. He has also performed with reggae group Natty Nation, the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and with notable jazz artists such as Tony Monaco, Richard Davis, Bob Rockwell, Billy Peterson, Richie Cole, Bob Malach, and Manty Ellis.
Pianist Dr. Johannes Wallmann directs the UW Jazz Studies program. A veteran of the New York and San Francisco Bay Area jazz scenes, he has released ten albums as a leader, including Elegy for an Undiscovered Species, which Downbeat magazine named a “Best of 2021” album. Wallmann is a Shifting Paradigm recording artist, a Yamaha Piano Artist, and an H.I. Romnes fellow.
Bassist Peter Dominguez returned to his alma mater in 2021 following professorships at Oberlin College and Michigan State University. A highly accomplished classical and jazz bass performer and educator, Dominguez’s jazz performance credits include Gary Bartz, Marcus Belgrave, Cyrus Chestnut, Eliane Elias, John Ellis, Tommy Flanagan, Billy Hart, JJ Johnson, Joe Lovano, Woody Shaw, Bobby Watson, and many others.
Drummer Dr. Matthew Endres teaches drum set and jazz history at the University of Wisconsin, and is the UW Marching Band Percussion Coordinator. He has performed extensively as a bandleader and a sideman. A native of Sauk City, Endres adjudicates music festivals and competitions throughout the United States.
The Quartet is joined by special guest saxophonist Lenard Simpson. In 2018, Milwaukee-born Simpson was selected for the Thelonious Monk Institute’s prestigious master’s program (now the Herbie Hancock Institute). Simpson is based in Chicago, playing as a leader and sideman with artists such as Marquis Hill and Kurt Elling. Simpson has taught at high profile jazz programs including The Herbie Hancock Institute’s Jazz in the Classroom, Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, NIU jazz camp, and Birch Creek jazz camp, and he has served as an adjunct saxophone professor at Northern Illinois University.
