Gwendoline Records: Artist Bios

THE LEIF ARNTZEN BAND

The Leif Arntzen Band originated in 1998 with the help of Michael Blake, of Slow Poke and Free Association, and featured Michael Blake, Tony Sher, Ben Allison, Scott Newman, among others. Under Leif's leadership the permanent lineup of Leif Arntzen, Will Woodard, Keith Ganz, and Vito Lesczak was established in February 2000. The band completed their first recording for Gwendoline in July of 2000, called "Channeling Chet." They also completed their second recording "Radio Tapes," Vol I and Vol II, in September 2000.

Leif Arntzen is a trumpeter/singer songwriter from Vancouver, British Columbia, now living in New York. Born into a large family of musicians and artists, Leif was playing regional junior classical and jazz concerts by the age of 13. He started gigging professionally at the age of 15 with his father Lloyd, a jazz soprano saxophone player and singer. Between his charismatic stage appeal and his understated playing style heavily influenced by Miles Davis, Leif has been a popular pick among New York based acoustic rock performers, singer songwriters, and other original recording projects. Leif brought all those experiences into forming The Leif Arntzen Band, and since 2000 has been his full time personal original project.

Vito Lesczak is Austrian. A protege of Victor Lewis, Vito also won an award at the International Jazz Competition in Mauterndorf, Austria. Besides holding down the drumming chair for jazz artist Andy Bey, he's played and recorded with many of this country's jazz artists, including Clark Terry, Art Farmer, Steve Grossman, Ernie Wilkins, Phil Harper, Peter Bernstein, Peter Washington, Jay Clayton, Valerie Ponomarev, Brad Leali, and can be seen and heard on television, radio, and concert halls and clubs in the US and Europe.

Will Woodard left his home state of Virginia to complete his B.A. in Music from Yale University (1979). He studied extensively with jazz bassist Dave Holland (Miles Davis Band) form 1981 to 1983, and has been performing jazz professionally ever since, in New York and around the world. He has performed with Little Jimmy Scott, Ed Blackwell, Roy Hargrove, Billy Hart, Cyrus Chestnut, and many other jazz artists. Will has also performed at The Monterey Jazz Festival, The Bottom Line, Tokyo's Blue Note, and many other concert halls, jazz festivals, and clubs throughout the U.S., Europe, and Japan. He has also recorded for Concord Jazz, Timeless Records, and for HMP Records (Switzerland, with the Thomas Faist Quartet). He is also currently a member of The Chuck Clark Little Big Band, which performs regularly in the jazz clubs of New York.

Keith Ganz attended his home state University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In performance with the UNC Jazz ensemble, Keith won the soloist award in 1993. He became a founding member of the band Doxy's Kitchen, recording two albums through their 4 years of extensive touring. In 1998 Keith heard New York calling. Since his arrival, he has played with many jazz artists including Russel Malone, Chris Potter, Joel Frahm, David Berkman, John McKenna, Sean Smith, and Diane Hubka. Keith is also a member of the As-Is Ensemble.