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Juli Wood is a Finnish-American saxophonist, vocalist, composer, and band-leader from Chicago, who appears regularly in Chicago and Milwaukee area jazz clubs, on tours through the Midwest with the Juli Wood Quartet, and other groups she leads or is a part of. She plays soprano, tenor and baritone saxophone. Wood makes frequent appearances at Scandinavian jazz and blues festivals including Finland's Pori Jazz festival. Wood got her start in Milwaukee with the R&B Cadets, and gained further exposure with Paul Cebar & the Milwaukeeans—which also featured vocalists Robyn Pluer, and Paul Cebar—who toured between Milwaukee, Chicago, and Minneapolis. Wood plays baritone with organist Melvin Rhyne as a quintet on a self-published CD, Movin' and Groovin′. Her CD Blues for Earma Jean was released in November 2004 featuring Chicago pianist Earma Thompson. She plays with Milwaukee area jazz duo Mrs. Fun, and several of her contributions can be heard on The Best of Mrs. Fun (Daemon Records). Wood is a member of Valley of the Dolls, with Janet Planet, Connie Grauer and Kim Zick, who have released an album entitled High. Her 2015 recording Synkkä Metsä (Dark Forest) draws on material from her Finnish heritage. On one of her near-yearly trips to Finland she was listening to jazz trumpeter Art Farmer's recording of Swedish folk songs, To Sweden with Love (1964), and decided to record "simple and hauntingly beautiful Finnish folk songs, instrumentally and in a jazz style." She was named the Finlandia Foundation Performer of the Year for 2018. The foundation awarded her two grants: the first to research and produce a follow up to Synkkä Metsä; the other for traveling the USA performing the Finnish folk songs in jazz styles. She 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 - The Jazz Showcase, Green Mill Cocktail Lounge, 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 (Åland) to name a few". In 2018 she debuted Big Bari Band, with both her and fellow saxophonist Rajiv Halim On baritone saxophones. (en) |
| rdfs:comment |
Juli Wood is a Finnish-American saxophonist, vocalist, composer, and band-leader from Chicago, who appears regularly in Chicago and Milwaukee area jazz clubs, on tours through the Midwest with the Juli Wood Quartet, and other groups she leads or is a part of. She plays soprano, tenor and baritone saxophone. Wood makes frequent appearances at Scandinavian jazz and blues festivals including Finland's Pori Jazz festival. Wood got her start in Milwaukee with the R&B Cadets, and gained further exposure with Paul Cebar & the Milwaukeeans—which also featured vocalists Robyn Pluer, and Paul Cebar—who toured between Milwaukee, Chicago, and Minneapolis. (en) |
