Bio

Alto and baritone saxophonist Charlie Kohlhase (b. 11/28/56, Portsmouth, NH) has been a part of Boston’s jazz scene for more than thirty years. After private studies with Stan Strickland and Roswell Rudd Kohlhase moved to Boston from his native New Hampshire in 1980. In 1989 he formed the Charlie Kohlhase Quintet, a band that worked around Boston and toured nationally for a dozen years. Kohlhase has recently been leading two ensembles: the Explorer’s Club, an octet with two reeds, trumpet, tuba, piano, guitar, bass and drums and the Saxophone Support Group, a woodwind octet that plays saxophone-oriented compositions by Julius Hemphill, Steve Lacy, John Tchicai and Kohlhase. 2009 saw the release of the Explorers Club CD “Adventures” on Vermont’s Boxholder label. Kohlhase also co-led groups with the late, great Danish/ Congolese saxophonist John Tchicai for New England tours in 1993, 1997, 1998, 2003 and 2006. Charlie was a member of Boston’s Either/ Orchestra from 1987 to 2001, playing throughout North America, Europe and Russia. Recent sideman activities have included work with the Makanda Project, a large ensemble dedicated to performing unrecorded compositions by the late woodwind player/ composer Makanda Ken McIntyre, bassist Kit Demos’ Flame-Tet and trumpeter Daniel Rosenthal’s Quintet. Charlie, along with Dave Douglas and Roswell Rudd, was an artist-in-residence at Harvard for Spring 2003. In May 2003 Kohlhase recorded with Anthony Braxton’s Genome Project and in June worked with violinist/ composer Leroy Jenkins at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art. Charlie rejoined the Either/ Orchestra in 2008 and has worked with them along with Ethio-Jazz greats Mahmoud Ahmed, Mulatu Astatke, Alemayhu Eschete and Teshome Mitiku in venues ranging from Chicago to London, Toronto to Germany and Holland to Ethiopia.