Greg Ward is a saxophonist and composer that was born in Peoria, IL. Currently based in Chicago, Ward has had the opportunity to perform and record with a varied group of artists like Prefuse 73, Lupe Fiasco, Tortoise, William Parker, Andrew D'Angelo, and Mike Reed.

Greg Ward Quintet

Dearborn Station

Ethan Philion is an award-winning bassist, composer, and bandleader based in Chicago. Philion has been praised by the Washington Post for his "well honed chops and astounding musicality” His debut album, Meditations on Mingus, was commended as “a labor of conspicuous love and respect for a musical titan” by Downbeat Magazine and his follow up Quartet album with Greg Ward, Russ Johnson, and Dana Hall--Gnosis--received rave reviews from Downbeat, Jazz Thing, Frankfurter Allgemeine, JAZZIZ, and more. He has led bands across the country at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club, The Green Mill, Chicago Jazz Fest, Cliff Bell’s, Hyde Park Jazz Fest, An Die Musik, and more. He has performed with an extensive list of jazz artists including Greg Ward, Jon Irabagon, Mark Feldman, Frank Lacy, Russ Johnson, Dana Hall, Howard Levy, Ryan Cohan, Nick Mazzarella, Bobby Broom, Gary Bartz, Alyssa Allgood, Ernest Dawkins, Geof Bradfield, Dee Alexander, Lenard Simpson, Victor Garcia, Mike Allemana, Paul Marinaro, and more. Philion won the 2019 International Society of Bassists Jazz Competition and won a 2020 Chicago Luminarts Jazz Fellowship. More recently, Philion was selected by the Jazz Institute of Chicago for their 2022 New Works Fresh Voices Fellowship.

Ethan Philion Quartet

Founded around 1990, Sabertooth is led by two saxophonists:  Cameron Pfiffner & Pat Mallinger. The band started out with the unique pairing of its two lead reedmen at an old musicians hang called Jazz Bulls in Lincoln Park West neighborhood of Chicago. From that night’s collaboration the idea of Sabertooth began to take shape with a driving force behind the widely varied stylings best summed up as, “just groove it”.

Neil Hemphill

Events

Upcoming events

Mar 12, 2026

Sabertooth Organ Quartet · Jazz Showcase

Past events

Jul 30, 2025

Greg Ward Quintet · Jazz Showcase

Jun 10, 2025

Ethan Philion Quartet · Jazz Showcase

About

Neil Hemphill hasn't added a bio