Guster is a band. Guster is a band that's started making new music again.

SKIO Music is the creativity and opportunity marketplace for today’s music industry. Built by artists for artists, SKIO gives members the opportunity to sell their music for a fair price, get discovered by labels, learn from pros and build their professional network.

Katie Ernst has been described by the Chicago Tribune as "a versatile young bassist who plays in far-flung bands and sings with uncommon delicacy and authenticity." Her recent compositions are inspired by the poetry of American writer Dorothy Parker. Her complete Dorothy Parker project Little Words was released on Feb 10, 2015, and is currently available on BandCamp.
 
As both a bassist and vocalist, Katie has performed at the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, and Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival, among others.  The Chicago Reader has identified her as "one of the brightest lights on Chicago’s jazz scene, and she isn’t close to hitting her creative ceiling."
 
In 2013 and 2014, Katie was one of 24 young artist-composers selected for the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Program, an international jazz residency program at the Kennedy Center under the direction of pianist and MacArthur Fellow Jason Moran.  In May 2014, she performed at the Chicago Symphony Center as part of Jason Moran’s Looks of a Lot premiere, which also featured Nasheet Waits, Tarus Mateen, Ken Vandermark, Theaster Gates, and Kenwood Academy Jazz Band.  
 
Katie is an active bandleader and side-woman in Chicago. She regularly composes and performs with the band TWIN TALK, alongside co-leaders Dustin Laurenzi (saxophone) and Andrew Green (drums). Their first album ‘Sightline’ was released in November 2013, and the group was featured at the 2014 Chicago Jazz Festival.  
 
Katie holds a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies & Contemporary Media and a Bachelor of Musical Arts from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. She coordinates the Jazz Links Student Council program for high school musicians at the Jazz Institute of Chicago, and serves as Jazz Ensemble Director and Lecturer of Jazz Bass at Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL.

Saxophonist/composer/arranger/educator

Debut album "Borrowed Time" now available: https://andrewjanakandwindarmada.bandcamp.com/releases

Recent DMA graduate living in Lincoln, NE, previously in Chicago, IL.

*All music on this site composed/arranged by Andrew Janak unless otherwise noted or reposted from another Soundcloud site*

I am a musician. I am a trumpet player and pianist, as well as a composer. I hope you find something unique in what you hear. Thanks for listening. 



Chicago saxophonist Dustin Laurenzi has developed a distinctly personal approach to improvisation and composition that has garnered the attention of the city's creative music community. Recognized for his "offbeat approach to articulating harmonies and constructing melodies" (NextBop), Dustin's music is inspired and informed by jazz, folk, improvised music, and contemporary classical music. His wide range of influences and inventive improvisational sensibilities have made him a sought-after musician in many circles of Chicago's rich music scene.
 
Dustin has been a leader/co-leader of his own projects, Twin Talk, Snaarj, and Natural Language, and a member of the Marquis Hill Blacktet, the Quentin Coaxum Quintet, and Katie Ernst's Little Words, among others. He has released several albums featuring his original compositions, including Twin Talk’s eponymous release, praised by Chicago Jazz Magazine as “a cohesive and original album that brims with a vibrant fluidity and a poetic sense.”
 
Dustin earned a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies and a Performer's Certificate from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music in 2011. He has performed or recorded with Jeff Parker, Matt Ulery, Russ Johnson, Jeff Hirshfield, Corey Christiansen, Lil BUB's Big Show, the Dave Lisik Jazz Orchestra featuring Tim Hagans, and has recently been featured at the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, and the Kennedy Center. Dustin's debut album as a leader, Natural Language, will be released in September 2016 on ears&eyes Records.

Chicago band Twin Talk is known for its offbeat, melodic approach to improvised music. Drummer Andrew Green, saxophonist Dustin Laurenzi, and bassist/vocalist Katie Ernst focus their creative energies on collaboration and communication, sharing a musical language that is deeply personal and highly connected.   

Chicago’s legacy of creative improvisers has had a profound influence on the band's defiant risk-taking and spontaneity. All About Jazz critic Mark Turner offers high praise for the band's sophomore album (TWIN TALK, ears&eyes Records) noting that "Chicago has long been a bedrock of improvised music and Twin Talk represents a microcosm of that strength in today's environment."  

Twin Talk tours regularly throughout the U.S. and has been featured at the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, and the Chicago Music Summit. For a current list of Twin Talk tour dates, visit twintalkmusic.com

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