JJ Wright

J.J. Wright’s style cannot be easily categorized. Trained as a jazz improvisor at the New School for Jazz in NYC, he’s also passionate about sacred music. Palestrina and Bach vie with Monk and Cannonball Adderley as just a few of his harmonic and melodic inspirations. While with the U.S. Naval Academy Band, Wright performed for the President—as well as several other high-profile diplomatic gigs—and with the Caribbean Jazz Project: Afro Bop Alliance, recording and performing with vibraphonist Dave Samuels, which was nominated for a GRAMMY and won a Latin GRAMMY. He recently recorded his debut album of original compositions and covers from Jon Brion, Sufjan Stevens, and Phil Collins. He is joined by Nate Wood on drums and Ike Sturm on bass and will release the album in conjunction with a U.S. tour in August 2014.

J.J. is Director of Music at Sacred Heart Parish, the crypt church underneath the University of Notre Dame’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart, and is the editor and creator of Sacred Music at Notre Dame’s online journal: Music and the Sacred.

When he’s not busy pursuing a Master’s of Sacred Music degree or studying conducting with Carmen-Helena Tellez, he’s a husband and father to three beautiful children.