JACOB WENDT is a musician, composer, music director, and educator in the Los Angeles area. A native of Northern California’s Bay Area, Jacob started playing the piano at the age of six. His musical curiosity led him to study multiple instruments during his youth, including the guitar, bass, tuba, drum set, and percussion.

Although heavily influenced by Jazz and R&B drumming greats of the 1950’s and 60’s, his sound is unique; balanced, supportive, and interactive, with a driving energy that serves the music while leaving space for others to speak — he is an authoritative yet never intrusive player. His original ensembles have headlined major venues across Northern and Southern California (Blue Whale, Yoshi’s, Fillmore Jazz Festival, Catalina’s, The Grape, Jazz Under Ground, The Harmony Room). To date he has released one album as a leader (Jacob Wendt Quartet, 2011) another as co-leader (Carter-White-Wendt, 2013) and a collection of original compositions (Jacob Wendt Sextet: Live at the Blue Whale, 2020).

His latest project, Silver Street, is a classic hardbop quintet in the spirit of Blue Note Records during the 1950’s & 60’s. The album features all original compositions influenced by jazz greats such as Horace Silver, Sonny Clark, Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, and Hank Mobley. The album features Harry Ostrander (trumpet) Jimmy Emerzian (tenor) Doug Carter (piano) and David Reynoso (bass) - release date is set for Friday, October 18th, 2024.