juli wood
Juli Wood has been blessed with the opportunity to make music her passion and her life for the last 25 years. She started out playing classical music, then in her early 20's got in the groove with some great R&B music, in the bands R&B Cadets and Paul Cebar and the Milwaukeeans. Since 1993 she has been focusing on playing jazz and leading her own bands.
Juli plays alto, tenor, and baritone saxes, and she loves to sing ! She has entertained around the world at jazz festivals and clubs. A few of her favorites were:
Skansen Jazz and Blues fest in Stockholm; Pori Jazz in Finland; Bent J's club in Aarhus, Denmark; Elo Jazz and Blues in Oulu, Finland; and Storyville Jazz Club in Helsinki. The late night gigs in Fuengirola, Malaga, and Grenada in Spain were a blast ! The gigs this January on Crete and Bar Guru in Athens were fabulous ! Stateside she has played extensively throughout the midwest. Her home is now in Chicago where she has led her own groups at : Andy's, Green Mill, Green Dolphin St., Pete Miller's, and Katerina's.
Juli has been featured at the Chicago Jazz Fest in her own quintet with Mel Rhyne; with Jeru, a Gerry Mulligan tribute; and with an all female jazz band, SHE.
Juli has two swinging CD's out to date. The first one features Melvin Rhyne on the organ - "Movin' and Groovin' The Juli Wood Quintet". The last one was done with Chicago's legendary pianist, Earma Thompson. This disc, "Blues for Earma Jean" features a quartet of Chicago All-Stars swinging the blues ! Both CD's are available at CD Baby.com
Juli is also a member of the Prohibition Orchestra. This group plays authentic arrangements of tunes from the 20's and 30's. Lots of fun!
Juli never lost her connections to the great friends and musicians that she played with over the years in Wisconsin. She is still a member of the wonderful dance band, The R&B Cadets. This band has been performing off and on for the last 25 years ! Another fabulous group called the RHYTHM CLUB has been performing at festivals and clubs for over 15 years. This group is unique because it is all women musicians and the music is very ecclectic, everything from Edith Piaf to Patsy Cline to Stevie Wonder to Thelonious Monk ! These talented gals are; Robin Pluer/vocals and accordian, Connie Grauer/keyboards and vocals, Kim Zick/drums, and Juli /sax and vocals. You can see them in Chicago from time to time at Katerina's.
Juli is also a member of the band at Christ Universal Temple.