Meet Joe Locke and Warren Wolfe

Joined by Herman Burney, bass

Joe Locke 

Long known to be a soloist capable of stunning physical power and broad emotional range, it was not until the last decades that he emerged as the composer, bandleader and conceptualist that he is considered today. 

This is in no small part due to his solo projects since the beginning of the 2000s. This is in no small part due to his prolific solo projects, notably Four Walls of Freedom, a 6 movement suite featuring the late tenor saxophonist Bob Berg; Live in Seattle (Origin) by The Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group which won the 2006 EarShot award for Concert of the Year and his eloquent and vibrant quartet Force Of Four (Origin). 

In 2011 Joe joined the Motéma label for four intrinsically different albums bearing witness of his immense stylistic versatility and ability to create artistic depth in a variety of contexts: 

After Signing, the long-awaited follow-up studio album of Live In Seattle, 2012 also saw the release of Joe Locke’s first ever symphonic project, Wish Upon A Star, featuring Locke‘s Quartet with the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra (NE), and the Jazz radio charts #1 Blues & Ballads album Lay Down My Heart in 2013. In 2015 Locke released Love Is A Pendulum - a suite based on a poem by Barbara Sfraga - is already being hailed the most important work of his career. 

Locke’s latest album, Subtle Disguise (2018) is being celebrated “a crowning achievement from a certified vibraphone master” by Jazziz Magazine and means very much a happy continuation of his search to unite his love of composition with the connective qualities of melody and groove. 

Locke is a six-time recipient of the Jazz Journalists Association’s “Mallet Instrumentalist of the Year” Award and has won numerous further awards and polls. In 2016 he was honoured with the induction into the Music Hall of Fame of his hometown Rochester, NY. He is an active clinician and educator in the United States and in Europe and is holding the title of Honorary Associate of London’s Royal Academy Of Music (Hon ARAM) since 2013.

Learn more about Joe Locke at joelocke.com

Warren Wolf 

Warren Wolf is a multi-instrumentalist from Baltimore, MD. From the young age of three years old, Warren has been trained on the Vibraphone/Marimba, Drums, and Piano. Under the guidance of his father Warren Wolf Sr., Warren has a deep background in all genres of music. 

Warren has several recordings as a leader. Warren’s first two records are on the M&I label which is based in Japan. The first record is titled “Incredible Jazz Vibes” which features Mulgrew Miller on Piano, Vicente Archer on Bass and Kendrick Scott on Drums. The second record is titled “Black Wolf”. That record features Mulgrew Miller on Piano, Rodney Whitaker on Bass and Jeff “Tain” Watts on Drums. Warren has a self produced CD which is titled “RAW”. That record features Darren Barrett on Trumpet, Walter Smith on Tenor Saxophone, Jason Palmer on Trumpet, Plume on Alto Saxophone, Kris Funn on Bass, Peter Slavov on Bass, Lawrence Fields on Piano/Fender Rhodes and Charles “Dogg” Haynes on Drums. On “RAW” Warren performs on both the Vibraphone and Drums. The fourth recording is titled Warren “Chano Pozo” Wolf. On this recording, Warren performs on the Vibraphone, Drums/Fender Rhodes and Piano. This recording features Tim Green on Alto Saxophone, Lawrence Fields on Piano/Fender Rhodes, John Lamkin on Drums, Dana Hawkins on Drums, Kris Funn on Bass, Louis Cato on Electric Bass, Delandria Mills on Flute, Tabreeca Woodside on Vocals and Integriti Reeves on Vocals. Warren has recently signed to the Mack Ave recording label. A future record will be released in the near future. 

Musicians that Warren has played with or recorded with are Wynton Marsalis and The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Jeremy Pelt and “Creation”, Nicholas Payton, Tim Warfield, Adonis Rose, Donal Fox, Anthony Wonsey, Aaron Goldberg, Cyrus Chestnut, Lewis Nash, Willie Jones, Eric Reed, Mulgrew Miller, Terri Lyne Carrington, Yoron Israel, Larry Willis, David “Fathead” Newman, Stefon Harris, Reuben Rogers, Kevin Eubanks, Curtis Lundy, Steve Davis, Duane Eubanks, Ron Carter, Wycliffe Gordon, Robert Glasper, Esperanza Spaulding and many others.

Learn more about Warren Wolf at warrenwolfmusic.com

Herman Burney 

Herman Burney has traveled all over the world to establish his impressive list of performance credentials as bassist with Nnenna Freelon, Marcus Roberts, Freddy Cole, Wynton Marsalis, Sonny Fortune, Harry Pickens, Eric Alexander, Wycliffe Gordon, Rene Marie, Monty Alexander, Etta Jones, Oscar Brown, Red Holloway, Natalie Cole, Cedar Walton, and Eric Reed. Herman has also played with Hank Jones, Milt Hinton, Ellis Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Terrell Stafford, Frank Wess, Carl Allen, and Etta Jones, and many, many others. 

Herman created The BassMint in 1996 as an all-bass ensemble for documentation, performance, and education with specific emphasis on the double bass. Herman says “The bass IS the backbone of all Western music … we are the foundation.” Therefore, the BassMint focuses on the history of the double bass, its role in Western music, and its potential. For example, The BassMint paid tribute to Percy Heath in 1997; members included John Heard, Carroll Dashiell, Reginald Veal, and Herman on bass and cello. “We were well received by an enthusiastic audience who left with a different perception of the double bass!” More recently, the DC Bass Choir (with James King and Michael Bowie) paid tribute to Papa Keter Betts as part of the first annual Duke Ellington Festival here in DC; it was a challenging and very worthwhile experience that we look forward to repeating this year, possibly with a guest!! 

Herman performs regularly with his own group which ranges from duo to quartet; the group’s composition varies “as the music dictates” but regularly features pianists such as Vince Evans, Eric Reed, Tommy Gill, or Kevin Bales, drummers Eric Kennedy, Steve Williams, or Quentin Baxter, saxophonist Gary Thomas, trumpeters Lenny Foy or Terrell Stafford, trombonists Reginald Cyntje, Ronald Westray, or Wycliffe Gordon, and vocalists Melva Houston, Lavenia Nesmith, Imani, or Rene Marie. 

When asked to describe Herman, bassist and educator Rufus Reid says that Herman is “one of the finest bassists on the music scene today.”

 Learn more about Herman at hermanburney.com