Right About Now:
AJ Kluth is a Chicago based saxophonist/composer/educator enjoying the freelancing musician's life in the Midwest while continuing to pursue further academic ventures. Apart from his interest in music, AJ has been nursing abiding passions for literature, philosophy, theology, metaphysics - the list grows more and more pretentious. His book of transcriptions of solos by saxophonist Chris Potter (2007) has been warmly embraced by the jazz community. 2009 saw him signed to Seattle jazz label OA2 Records and the subsequent release of his quintet's album "Twice Now". He's also trying to figure out how bicycles work. When not playing, listening to, studying, composing, or teaching music, he can generally be found reading anything he can get his hands on or taking something apart.
Currently working with:
ALDRIC
L'Orchestre Super Vitesse
Chicago Afrobeat Project
The Jordan Years
The Dirty Rooks
AJ Kluth Quintet
Lauren Frost
Jerome Holloway
Early Years:
AJ spent his early years studying the visual arts with a remarkable man named John Gordon via Gordon's "Young Masters" program prior to becoming enamoured with the aural. Late in high school, he and a pianist friend started messing around with a few jazz standards and the idea of improvisation. Some music theory lessons and a few CD purchases later, they began gigging around the Green Bay area at coffee shops and the like. When high school ended and he was advised by those wiser than himself to go to college, he applied to the local University of Wisconsin Green Bay and decided on music almost on a lark. He surprised himself to find he was actually a rather fine student. Within a few years, AJ became an in-demand woodwind player in the North East Wisconsin area while at the same time working with his own jazz groups all over the state. During college, AJ studied with saxophonist/flutist/composer, Dr John Salerno and was awarded two music scholarships. He was chosen to perform in UWGB’s Honors Recital for two consecutive years, performing both jazz and classical styles. In 2003, AJ graduated with a BA in Applied Music with an Emphasis in Jazz Studies. Wanting to continue his studies and move to a larger metropolitan area, AJ attended DePaul University in Chicago where he studied with jazz greats Larry Novak, Mark Colby, and Bob Palmieri. He earned a Masters of Musical Arts degree in Jazz Studies in 2006.
View AJ's Curriculum Vitae
AJ Plays:
Tenor: Selmer Super Action 80 II with a Phil Barone Custom Neck and a Jody Jazz DV 7* mouthpiece with Rico Jazz Select 3H Filed reeds.
Alto: Selmer Super Balanced Action with a Meyer 6M rubber mouthpiece.
Soprano: Yamaha YSS875S Silver Plated Custom Soprano with a rubber 7* Otto Link mouthpiece.
Yamaha Clarinet and Flute