SPARX ft. Obasi Akoto, Warren Wolf, & more!

Obasi Akoto – bass
Warren Wolf – vibraphone
Zach Brock – violin
Tim Green – saxophone
Aaron Goldberg – piano
Alon Benjamini – drums

Obasi Akoto is a veteran American jazz bassist, composer and educator. Akoto has had a long and distinguished career performing and recording with some of the most important jazz musicians in the world including Wynton Marsalis, Cyrus Chestnut, Abbey Lincoln, Kenny Barron, and more. Formally known as Steve Kirby, he is the music director of this fantastic group.

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. Vibraphonist Warren Wolf is one of the hardest swinging virtuosos in all of modern music.

Critically acclaimed as the “pre-eminent improvising violinist of his generation,” Zach Brock is an American jazz violinist and multi Grammy Award-winning member of Snarky Puppy. He has toured with Stanley Clarke and Phil Markowitz, released seven solo albums, and was named “Rising Star Violinist” of 2013 by Downbeat Magazine. A passionate educator, Zach has coached hundreds of musicians from workshops to conservatories worldwide.

Forging a deeply personal sound from a broad swath of the jazz landscape, Baltimore-native and internationally acclaimed saxophonist, educator, composer and arranger Tim Green has emerged as a powerful voice, melding deftly swinging hard bop, fluid modernity and soulful gospel.

“For over 20 years, pianist Aaron Goldberg has set himself apart as one of the most scintillating performers in jazz,” hails JazzTimes. Goldberg is widely heralded as one of the art form’s most compelling pianists, both leading his own trio and collaborating with such brilliant icons as Joshua Redman, Wynton Marsalis, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Guillermo Klein and many more. Simultaneously swinging and embracing risk, his stylistically fluid, singular voice reveals that jazz is a tradition of innovation.

Originally from Tel Aviv, Israel, Alon Benjamini is a New York based Drummer, arranger and composer. As a 2018 Graduate from The New School of Jazz, he has played with world-renowned artists such as Reggie Workman, Omer Avital & Takeshi Ohbayashi.