Warren Wolf: Beyond Vibes

Warren Wolf is determined to do it all. More than 20 years into his career as a vibraphonist, drummer and composer, the Baltimore-based musician shares the true breadth of his musical talent.

“I’m releasing my 10th album as a bandleader, and I had to make something special,” he says. “I decided to showcase myself: to write and play all the parts and let everyone know who Warren Wolf really is. Since I never wanted to be known as just a vibraphone player.”

Starting his career as a classically trained percussionist at the prestigious Peabody Preperatory at Johns Hopkins University, Wolf went on to study under Spyro Gyra vibraphonist Dave Samuels at Berklee College of Music and has since played with the likes of Christian McBride, Karriem Riggins and the SFJAZZ Collective. As a bandleader, his records have spanned from the R&B influences of 2020’s Reincarnation to the hard-swinging intricacies of 2011’s Warren Wolf and the breezy West Coast melodies of 2016’s Convergence. Throughout, Wolf’s vibraphone has been a steady, soulful presence, but it took the pandemic in 2020 to set him on a different path.

Read the interview in Downbeat Magazine.

[This piece was published on 19/09/23]