Description
Event Details:
Date: Friday, January 30th, 2026
Time: 7PM
Venue: MUSE Sturgeon Bay
Directions: 330 Jefferson Street, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin 54235. On the corner of Third Avenue and Jefferson Street in downtown Sturgeon Bay.
Phone: 920-333-2859
Email: tickets@musesturgeonbay.com
About Daddio:
DADDIO is a contemporary improvisational group, comprised of some of the most experienced players in WI. Their musical offerings vary from fresh takes on other’s work to original material in a wide range of grooves and styles. DADDIO is a quartet consisting of drummer Tony Wagner, bassist Charlie Sauter, saxophone/electronic wind instrument (EWI) player Tom Washatka and guitarist/guitar synthesizer player Scott Dercks. The following is an excerpt from an October 2024 interview in the Door County Pulse with Scott Dercks.
Q: How did DADDIO come together?
A: We have all played together in various configurations over the last 30-plus years, but DADDIO officially started after Tony, Tom and I played in a version of a band called The Jazz Orgy in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It reminded us how much we enjoyed playing together and encouraged us to start our own project. Charlie was the logical choice to add on as a bassist, because Tony and I had worked with him in a couple bands recently and he’s one of the best bassists around.
Q: DADDIO describes itself as “a contemporary improvisational group.” In layperson’s terms, what does that mean?
A: It’s a clever way of saying “jazz.” The word “jazz” seems to carry some unwanted connotations that limit a band’s ability to get work. One of the most common compliments we get is, “I don’t like jazz, but I like you guys.” Every night, the music is different because we are improvising continuously. We play melodically and energetically, and we want the audience to be part of what is happening – all things that are sometimes lacking in less experienced jazz bands.
Q: What artists inspire DADDIO’s sound?
A: The band has a Yellowjackets vibe, but we also play things from Sting, Stevie Wonder, John Scofield, Steely Dan and David Sanborn. We also do a number of original compositions that are some of our audiences’ favorite tunes.
Q: What’s it like playing music that involves so much improvisation?
A: Improvising well is the result of a lifetime’s work and study. It’s all about the musicians’ ability to listen very intensely and respond instantaneously to what they are hearing. You can’t be thinking about what to play or you’ll miss the moment. You’re on a tightrope with no net. There are times it doesn’t come together as well as you might hope, but when it does – and it does often with this band – it can be almost transcendental.
My favorite part is the creation every night of something new and potentially wondrous. We are playing songs so it isn’t just a cacophony, but beyond the parts that need to be played in order to play the song, you have freedom to express yourself with others in common discourse.
About Cool Bay Jazz:
Deirdre Fellner (Vocals) is an award winning vocalist, song-writer, session samurai, and first-call free-lance frontman currently residing in Door County, WI. Deirdre masterfully interprets the great Jazz, Soul, and R&B legends with the artistry and musicality granted by a lifetime of study and performing. Deirdre is a musician’s singer, continuing to emulate the masters while passionately presenting a style of her own, and seeking enduring growth & development as a professional musician and person of integrity.
Tim Fox (Trumpet and Piano) graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in Music Education. He has played trumpet and/or piano in the Chicago area, around Colorado’s Western Slope, and on the road, with the likes of “The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra,” under the direction of Buddy Morrow, “The Temptations” and “The Four Tops,” Eric Alexander, Ed Soph, Ernie Watts, Red Skelton, Barbara Eden, Connie Francis, Mitzi Gaynor, and with many more. Tim facilitated, with the generous support of Jazz Aspen Snowmass (JAS,) the Roaring Fork Jazz Workshop, and worked closely with the JAS’s education initiatives. He is currently a freelance musician, living near the Southern Door County, Wisconsin, but still collaborates with musicians from Denver to Grand Junction, and considers himself a member of the Josefina Mendez Jazz trio and Elements Jazz.
Dennis Keith Johnson (Bass) has recorded/performed with bands/artists like Chase, Jim Peterik, Survivor, Software, Dennis DeYoung, Jerry Butler, B.B. King, Larry Carlton, and Paul Wertico. Venues and festivals have included the Newport Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Budokan (Tokyo), and Radio City Music Hall. Founder of the Dennis Keith Experience, his clients include ABC-TV, Abbott, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Cellular One, Citibank, CNA, Kraft, Merck, Miller Brewing, Motorola with performances in Maui to Paris France, Jamaica to Boston.
Bill Knipfer (Drums) has been playing percussion since age 14. He has played drums in various club bands in Milwaukee and Chicago. Bill graduated from the Musicians Institute in LA in 1982, played in LA jazz workshops, and studied privately from Gregg Bissionette before moving to Nashville, where he has been for the last 28 years doing demo recordings and playing in various country and jazz bands.
John Lewis (Guitar) has been working as a full-time performing musician/guitarist/bassist/composer for a number of decades now, based, for the most part, out of Des Moines, Miami and Chicago. In 2017, he and his wife moved to Fish Creek and they truly love being up here in the county. Over the years John has been fortunate to have seen a good part of the country and a number of places overseas as a touring sideman. Some of the more iconic venues include The Cavern Club (Liverpool), Paradiso (Amsterdam), Shepherd’s Bush Empire (London), NBC Studios (Rockefeller Plaza, NY) and the Palace Theater (Hollywood, CA). John wrote, published and recorded quite a bit of instrumental music and, more recently, an album of original songwriting entitled Graffiti.
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