Ana Everling is an artist who has spent her life focusing on the practice and performance of vocal music. Her passion lies within the heart of Romanian Folklore from Moldova. With her practice, she has developed a unique style that reflects a deep love for tradition and yet propels these folkloric sounds into a new dimension. Are we listening to jazz? Are we walking through a misty Romanian forest?
Her storytelling and vision is one of a woman’s journey of studying music in art schools in Moldova to busking on the streets of Chicago and now sells out venues throughout the United States. One of her missions as a performer is to preserve a free form genre called “Doina” from disappearing. This effort lead her to be honored by the president of Moldova as she was given the title Artist Emerit for prodigious activity in culture, high professional mastery and substantial contribution to preserving and developing the spiritual values of Moldovan culture and promoting Moldova's image abroad.
The new Ana Everling Quartet project sounds like folklore but it is all original compositions combined with modern arrangements and improvised sound, delivering complex performances that address universal themes.
Kenny Reichert is a Chicago-based guitarist, composer, bandleader, and educator who has been described as “a distinctive player and composer” by DownBeat Magazine and “accomplished” by Textura. He is known for his wide-reaching artistic vision and creativity, seeking to expand his boundaries and discover new musical horizons.
Reichert is a seasoned performer, having shared the stage alongside many notable artists in the Midwest including Russ Johnson, Geof Bradfield, Dana Hall, Ana Everling, Jon Irabagon, Clark Sommers, Jon Deitemyer, Lenard Simpson, Johannes Wallmann, Alyssa Allgood, Ethan Philion, Julia Danielle, and Devin Drobka. Reichert’s second studio album as a leader, Deep Breath, was released in April 2023 with Shifting Paradigm Records. He self-released his debut album Interpretations in 2015 and has been featured on recordings such as Johannes Wallmann’s Love Wins (Fresh Sound) and Ian Ewing’s Overnight (Nettwerk Music Group).
Born in Brookfield, Wisconsin, Reichert grew up playing piano, guitar, and organ. After attending Berklee College of Music, Reichert returned to Milwaukee to complete his studies in Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Reichert holds a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from DePaul University and was a 2022 Luminarts Cultural Foundation Jazz Improvisation Fellow.
In 2014, Reichert met his wife, classical guitarist, vocalist, composer, and educator Sara d’Ippolito Reichert, in the Milwaukee music scene. Together they formed the jazz-folk duo "Sara and Kenny." Since 2015, the duo has toured and recorded across the United States and Europe, including concerts in Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France, Lichtenstein, Canada, the Netherlands, and the United States. To date, Sara and Kenny have released four albums and three singles: Volver A Los 17 (2022), Puzzles by the Fire (2019), Heartless (2019), Landscapes (2019), Pretty (2018), Familiar Rhythms (2017), and Spirit of Gold (2015).
Reichert also composes and produces music for sync and licensing purposes. He has over 20 releases between Bigger Story Music, Atomica Music Library, Burnett Music, Slightly Subversive, and The License Lab.
Kenny Reichert performs with Raezer’s Edge Amplifiers.
