The Howard Wiley Quartet ft/ special guest vocalist Viveca Hawkins

Black Cat JAZZ@theEDGE Summer Festival!! Presents: The Howard Wiley Quartet ft/ vocalist Viveca Hawkins

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Howard Wiley - saxophone

LJ Holoman -piano/organ

Marcus Phillips- bass

Dante “Taz” Roberson - drums

Viveca Hawkins - vocals

Born in Berkeley, California, Howard Wiley studied the saxophone in high school, was selected to be a member of the Grammy All-American Jazz Band two years in a row at 14 and 15 years old. He travelled to both New York and Los Angeles performing with the best  young musicians in the country at various activities related to Grammy Week. The following year, he was selected  to participate in the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz’s All-Star Band. This band of young lions studied and  performed with jazz greats including Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Gerald Albright, and many others. Wiley then received a scholarship to Berklee School of Music; where he would graduate with honors. During his time  with the Institute, Howard also met and collaborated with other rising stars of Jazz in Los Angeles, including  Kamasi Washington, Tony Austin, Miles Mosley and more (the collective now known as the West Coast Get Down).  To this day, Howard is still a member; recording and touring with them worldwide when not working on his solo  projects.  

At the age of 15, he released his first CD as a leader with the local press review stating “…this CD signals the arrival  of the San Francisco Bay’s newest diamond in the rough.” In 2007 Wiley released his third album, The Angola  Project, comprising ensemble pieces inspired by 1950s recordings from Angola State Pr*son. According to Jazz  critic Daniel King of the San Francisco Chronicle, “What makes Wiley’s album a great listen is histextural range, his less-is-more compositional approach and his patience as a soloist. Instead of packing notes into every bar, he places them thoughtfully into well-paced improvisations.” 

Wiley’s love of jazz and arranging led him to fuse his jazz sounds with funk. Ever the soulful live musician,  Howard has built a strong reputation for presenting jazz shows ‘that you can dance to’. On experiencing Wiley in  a live setting, journalist Drew Foxman writes, “…he befitted a dignified presence by displaying his deep reverence for the musicians with whom he was collaborating, unmasking the persona of an unassuming leader. This is a  musician who understands his sound, not only in an ensemble, but in the history of music. This humility, though,  translates into downright explosiveness on the bandstand.” 

Howard Wiley has toured internationally, recorded and performed with artists including Miss Lauryn Hill, Sheila E,  Cory Henry, Christian McBride, Chester Thompson and more. He is a Founding member of the new Bay Area  collective BLACK LONDON, who are currently performing in and around Northern California. He has performed  worldwide with other artists and with his solo project at the San Francisco Jazz Festival, Playboy Jazz Festival,  Monterey Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Fest, Blue Note Club, Madrone Art Bar, Cape Town Jazz Festival, the  Grammy Museum, Yoshi’s Oakland, Malcolm X Jazz Festival, Sonoma Jazz Festival, Smalls NY and SXSW, to name  a few. Recently, he was also a featured artist performing his original music for the official new APPLE iPhone  commercial and global conference.  

Howard Wiley is blazing a trail with his new sound. He is currently recording his next album, while recording and  performing worldwide as the resident saxophonist for Miles Mosley & the West Coast Get Down.  

“The soloing from Howard Wiley is first rate.” Los Angeles Times 

“Much has been written about the twenty- something crew of musicians heralded as the new keepers of the jazz flame.  Well make way for a representative of the next generation”. Dan Quolette, Down Beat Magazine 

“A major force in the Bay area music scene…steeped in a vast array of African-American idioms, from gospel, blues and jazz to Funk and R&B..” San Jose Jazz

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