The prolific Chicago-based bass player and improvisor discusses her many projects—including Twin Talk, Wayfaring, and Edith Judith—and her role in inspiring the next generation of musicians.
Today, the Spotlight shines On bassist and vocalist Katie Ernst. In addition to many other things, Katie is one half of the duo Wayfaring, with last week’s guest James Falzone.
Katie is also co-leader of the Chicago-based jazz trio Twin Talk, and the indie rock band Edith Judith, and has garnered much acclaim for her Dorothy Parker poetry song cycle Little Words, which premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
Katie is a working musician, performing as part of many jazz and improvised music ensembles in the Chicago area. She is also a committed educator, working with young musicians in her work as a teaching artist for the Jazz Institute of Chicago’s Jazz Masters Residency Program in Chicago Public Schools, and by serving on the faculty at Birch Creek Music Academy summer program.
I was very fortunate to see Katie perform as part of Wayfaring earlier this year and even more fortunate to have this conversation. Enjoy.
(The musical excerpts heard in the interview are from Twin Talk’s 2019 album Weaver and Wayfaring’s recent Intermezzo)
• Did you enjoy this episode? Please share it with a friend! You can also rate Spotlight On ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. • Subscribe! Be the first to check out each new episode of Spotlight On in your podcast app of choice. • Looking for more? Visit spotlightonpodcast.com for bonus content, web-only interviews + features, and the Spotlight On email newsletter. You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Mastodon. • Check out Spotlight On’s next live event at The Royal Room in Seattle on Saturday, June 22! More info here.
Your donations help support us while we support independent artists and thinkers. If you like the way that sounds, please donate today. Any amount is appreciated. Thanks.
Some bands burn bright and fast, leaving behind only tantalizing fragments of legacy. Afterimage, a post-punk group that briefly lit up the Los Angeles scene in the early '80s, is a case in point.
Inspired by the conversation between Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark frontman Andy McCluskey and Spotlight On producer and guest host Michael Donaldson.
Ed Neumeister is a trombonist, composer, arranger and educator operating at the forefront of creative music for more than forty years, including work with Jerry Garcia (in the band, Reconstruction), backing up the likes of Chuck Berry, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Frank Sinatra.
The prolific Chicago-based bass player and improvisor discusses her many projects—including Twin Talk, Wayfaring, and Edith Judith—and her role in inspiring the next generation of musicians.
Today, the Spotlight shines On bassist and vocalist Katie Ernst. In addition to many other things, Katie is one half of the duo Wayfaring, with last week’s guest James Falzone.
Katie is also co-leader of the Chicago-based jazz trio Twin Talk, and the indie rock band Edith Judith, and has garnered much acclaim for her Dorothy Parker poetry song cycle Little Words, which premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
Katie is a working musician, performing as part of many jazz and improvised music ensembles in the Chicago area. She is also a committed educator, working with young musicians in her work as a teaching artist for the Jazz Institute of Chicago’s Jazz Masters Residency Program in Chicago Public Schools, and by serving on the faculty at Birch Creek Music Academy summer program.
I was very fortunate to see Katie perform as part of Wayfaring earlier this year and even more fortunate to have this conversation. Enjoy.
(The musical excerpts heard in the interview are from Twin Talk’s 2019 album Weaver and Wayfaring’s recent Intermezzo)
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Dig Deeper
• Visit Katie Ernst at katieernst.com
• Listen to music from Katie Ernst’s projects: Wayfaring, Twin Talk, and Edith Judith
• Follow Katie Ernst on Instagram, Facebook, and Bandcamp
• Jazz bassist and vocalist Katie Ernst rises like the tide
• Traveling with a Double Bass
• Twin Talk (website)
• Dustin Laurenzi | Saxophonist/Multi-Instrumentalist
• FLY (jazz trio)
• Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead - Katie Ernst
• Jason Moran & The Bandwagon (Performance/Demonstration)
• Edith Judith – Bones And Structure
• Why everyone loves to hate Kenny G, according to the jazz musician himself
• A Pink Floyd CD is returned to a Maryland library — 35 years overdue
• Dizzy Gillespie - “In A Shanty In Old Shanty Town”
• Billie Holiday - “(In My) Solitude”
• Eastman School of Music
• Mike Reed | Drummer/Composer
• Birch Creek Music Performance Center
• Nick Mazzarella | Saxophonist
• Tim Stine | Guitarist/Composer
• Katie Ernst joins Iron & Wine on tour
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• Did you enjoy this episode? Please share it with a friend! You can also rate Spotlight On ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
• Subscribe! Be the first to check out each new episode of Spotlight On in your podcast app of choice.
• Looking for more? Visit spotlightonpodcast.com for bonus content, web-only interviews + features, and the Spotlight On email newsletter. You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Mastodon.
• Check out Spotlight On’s next live event at The Royal Room in Seattle on Saturday, June 22! More info here.
Your donations help support us while we support independent artists and thinkers. If you like the way that sounds, please donate today. Any amount is appreciated. Thanks.
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Lost Sounds of '80s LA: Afterimage's 'Faces to Hide'
Some bands burn bright and fast, leaving behind only tantalizing fragments of legacy. Afterimage, a post-punk group that briefly lit up the Los Angeles scene in the early '80s, is a case in point.
Andy McCluskey: The Spotlight On Playlist
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Ed Neumeister is a trombonist, composer, arranger and educator operating at the forefront of creative music for more than forty years, including work with Jerry Garcia (in the band, Reconstruction), backing up the likes of Chuck Berry, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Frank Sinatra.