JUN 8–19 | 39TH ANNUAL SAN FRANCISCO JAZZ FESTIVAL
Jun 16, 2022
Joe Henderson Lab
PLEASE NOTE:
This page is an archive of a past production
Please visit our calendar for all upcoming SFJAZZ shows.
Original show description below.
“The most prodigious Bay Area saxophonist of his generation” (Berkeleyside), Howard Wiley returns with his supercharged, Hammond organ-powered band that blends jazz, gospel, and funk with next-level grooves and deep soul. Having been mentored by Bay Area great Jules Broussard and sharing formative bandstand experiences with the likes of Clark Terry, Jason Moran, Orrin Evans, and Lauryn Hill, the Berkeley-born Wiley is a shining example of innate musical talent meeting opportunity born of hard lessons well learned. Association with the Thelonious Monk Institute and GRAMMY All-American Jazz Band established Wiley as a young talent on the rise, and his work as a professional has more than made good on his prodigious beginnings.
With his tough-but-tender aesthetic and fiery, muscular tone, the multi-instrumentalist and composer is a constant presence on SFJAZZ stages and venues around the country as both a bandleader and collaborator with former Tower of Power and Santana organist Chester Thompson, Ethio-folk vocalist Meklit, and as drummer with jump-blues chanteuse Lavay Smith’s Red Hot Skillet Lickers.
Wiley has released a trio of masterful solo recordings, including two that were inspired by Dr. Harry Orster’s famous field recordings of spirituals performed by Angola Penitentiary inmates in the 1950s, and performed SFJAZZ Hotplate tributes to Ornette Coleman and Coleman Hawkins.
With his tough-but-tender aesthetic and fiery, muscular tone, the multi-instrumentalist and composer is a constant presence on SFJAZZ stages and venues around the country.
Impossible to pigeonhole, Wiley can generate blowtorch heat in just about any context
San Jose Mercury News
Impossible to pigeonhole, Wiley can generate blowtorch heat in just about any context
San Jose Mercury News
Watch & Listen
Howard Wiley
Peace
Twelve Gates to the City
Howard Wiley
Howard Wiley
Peace
Twelve Gates to the City
Howard Wiley