The Checkout – Live at Berklee with Warren Wolf and Wolfpack
Warren Wolf '01 leads his band Wolfpack in the next Checkout - Live at Berklee concert, webcast, and broadcast.
Presented by Berklee, NPR Music, WBGO FM, The Checkout – Live at Berklee, brings critically acclaimed alumni back to their alma mater for intimate concerts at Cafe 939. The series continues with vibraphonist and marimba player Warren Wolf '01 and his group Wolfpack on Wednesday, March 5.
The concert will be webcast live in HD video at nprmusic.org and air in New York on WBGO FM. It will also be archived for on-demand listening at NPR Music and checkoutjazz.org. The concert and broadcast start at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 for the general public, $5 with a Berklee ID, and are available at cafe939.com or 617 747-2261. Cafe 939 is located at 939 Boylston Street, Boston, and is wheelchair accessible.
Wolfpack features Tim Green on saxophone, Alex Brown on piano, Kris Funn on bass, and Billy Williams Jr. on drums. Wolf is on tour this year throughout the United States with Wolfpack, and as a vibist with SFJAZZ Collective, Donal Fox, Christian McBride, and Aaron Diehl. He'll take the stage at clubs like the Village Vanguard and Jazz at Lincoln Center's Allen Room, as well as the Newport, Monterey, and Saratoga jazz festivals.
Wolf has a proclivity for instruments that are struck by mallets—the vibraphone, marimba, drums and piano. His latest CD Wolfgang, released on Mack Avenue Records in 2013, prompted a JazzTimes review that stated, "Warren Wolf appears on a path to stardom as arguably the most exciting bop vibraphonist since Bobby Hutcherson."
While at Berklee, Wolf expanded his jazz chops studying Caribbean music with vibraphonist Dave Samuels, and experimenting with hip-hop, R&B, rock, drum 'n' bass, gospel, and world music. He gained a following while he was the house drummer for three years at Wally's Cafe. After graduating, he taught in the percussion department for a year, innovating a piano course for drummers.
Wolf's six albums as a bandleader feature guest appearances by Mulgrew Miller, Benny Green, and Aaron Goldberg, headliners in their own right, and scores of Berklee alumni, including Kendrick Scott, Walter Smith, Lawrence Fields, Jeff "Tain" Watts, and Charles Haynes. Wolf is also a member of Christian McBride's group Inside Straight, appearing on the albums Kind of Brown and People Music.
Check out this video from the show: