For the past twenty years with four albums as a leader, several studio projects as a side man, and countless worldwide performances, saxophonist, vocalist and composer Juli Wood has established herself as a solid, swinging, lyrical and entertaining performer on Chicago’s music scene.

Juli has played many jazz clubs and festivals nationally and internationally; Chicago Jazz Fest, Hyde Park Jazz Fest, Milwaukee’s Summerfest, Chicago’s main jazz clubs – Jazz Showcase, Green Mill, Andy’s and Katerina’s. Skansen Jazz and Blues (Stockholm , Sweden), Pori Jazz Fest (Finland), Bent J’s club (Aarhus, Denmark), Storyville (Helsinki Finland), Arlandia Jazz Fest (Aaland Islands, Finland) and the ” Made in Chicago ” jazz festival in Poznan Poland to name a few.

Juli’s love for the saxophone goes way back. “I remember watching SOUL TRAIN as a kid on T.V. in the 70’s and seeing Maceo Parker playing alto sax with James Brown. I thought that was the coolest looking and sounding instrument in the world! So the love affair with the saxophone started in the sixth grade and has been going strong ever since.” Juli has played for the past 40 years with Robin Pluer in bands including the R&B cadets, Paul Cebar and the Milwaukeeans, Rhythm Club, and Robin’s Bastille Days groups.

She’s a sultry diva with pizzazz and jazzy style. She’s a multi-faceted songstress who elegantly but playfully delivers a mélange of vintage French ballads with a distinctive twist.

Robin Pluer, a perennial WAMI (Wisconsin Area Music Industry) Award winner, has been once again awarded Milwaukee’s Best Female Vocalist by the Shepherd Express for an unprecedented third year. This chanteuse with panache has become a mainstay at Bastille Days festivals. Over the past 20 years Robin has performed and composed music with John Sieger (R&B Cadets), Paul Cebar (and the Milwaukeeans) and Peter Buffett. Her fresh, engaging talent has afforded her opportunities coast to coast including Garrison Keeler’s “Prairie Home Companion” and NPR’s “World Café.” Recently, Pluer has returned from touring Europe.

Wherever she performs, whether it’s her funky R&B or flirtatious medley of French “oldies,” Robin Pluer effortlessly captivates her audiences. She can transport you to a more genteel France through chansons of the past, or strike your inner musical soul with her original R&B style.

In retirement, he will have more time for groups like Triple Crown, which plays American roots music, and the jazz band Holton’s Heroes. He and his wife, Laurie, also perform Senegalese music with African musicians at Club Timbuktu in the Riverwest neighborhood.
“I just turned 70, and I feel I can’t wait much longer to do justice to my other creative impulses,” Asch said. In addition to performing, he also composes and arranges for the groups that he works with. Some of his other bandmates don’t read written music and perform strictly by ear, and Asch feels fortunate that he can think both ways. On the classical side, he wrote a full-length violin concerto years ago, which he performed with several regional orchestras.
Asch attended Kewaskum High School, UW-Madison, and UW-Milwaukee before winning his MSO audition in 1980. His father, Albert “Bud” Asch, taught at UW-Washington County and founded the Kettle Moraine Symphony in 1968, with Glenn Asch and his siblings anchoring four of the string sections.
“Music is music, like food is food,” he said. “I like all kinds of food and all kinds of music, and I can skip from one to the other.” Creating music on the spot is a completely different way of thinking from today’s classical tradition, he said. “It’s very liberating, and it’s kept me enthusiastic about orchestral playing.”