Formed in 2011, Heisenberg Uncertainty Players (HUP) is a jazz big band that performs exclusively original compositions and arrangements by its leader and founder, John Dorhauer, and features some of the finest performers of big band music in the Chicago area. HUP has been a mainstay on the Chicago music scene for the past 15 years, having given over 200 public performances during that time. Aside from performing at many of Chicago’s premiere venues, HUP has received multiple Illinois Arts Council grants for recording projects and was invited to perform at the internationally-renowned Ear Taxi 2021 Festival.
HUP’s music is noted for its uniqueness and eclecticism, particularly with Dorhauer’s quirky reinterpretations of beloved rock and pop music. HUP has performed Dorhauer’s arrangements of several entire albums, including The Beatles’ “Abbey Road,” Led Zeppelin’s “Houses of the Holy,” Heart’s “Dreamboat Annie,” Wings’ “Venus And Mars,” and Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.” HUP is also known for their one-of-a-kind themed performances, which have included a historical retrospective of boy band music, heavy metal music, blues, all 90’s music, movie music, and symphonic movements. Furthermore, several of Dorhauer’s original compositions for HUP are built around inventive themes, including “The Basketball Suite,” which features songs inspired by various aspects of the modern NBA, and “We Tear Down Our Coliseums,” which is a 9-movement multimedia suite in which each movement is written as an homage to a baseball stadium that has been destroyed.
HUP recently recorded music for a couple of upcoming releases, and their most recent recording – 2020’s “Gradient” – has received national and international radio airplay and is currently available on all major streaming platforms.
Heisenberg Uncertainty Players are:
SAXES
Natalie Lande, Kelley Dorhauer, Sam Pilnick, Matt Zmuda, James Baum
TROMBONES
Michael Nearpass, Joshua Torrey, Andrew Meyer, Dan DiCesare
TRUMPETS
Grace Mulvey, Jonathan McQuade, Bennett Heinz, Emily Kuhn
RHYTHM SECTION
Chris Parsons (guitar), Stuart Seale (piano), Dan Parker (bass), Ethan Bouwsma (drums)
DIRECTOR
John Dorhauer
for more information on John Dorhauer, visit johndorhauer.com
