Boettcher Hecht Quartet Featuring Ashley Gonzalez, Live at The Plus
Saturday, September 28th
208 S Barstow Street
Eau Claire, WI
8pm | General Admission | All Ages
No cover charge- tips accepted for performers
DESCRIPTION
Since meeting in 2020, bassist Jeremy Boettcher and pianist Paul Hecht have been collaborating in
various bands, building on their shared love of the jazz tradition their wide-ranging musical curiosity.
Tonight they are joined by ace Twin Cities artists Pete James Johnson on drums and featured guest, tap
dancer Ashley Gonzalez.
Ashley Gonzalez is a tap dance performer, choreographer, and instructor whose work has been
recognized nationally and around the world. Some of her performances include the 2018 Governor’s Ball
Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, the 2018 MLBA All Star Pre Party Concert in Washington DC, and she has
also received awards for her tap performances in Seoul, South Korea and Offenburg, Germany. Gonzalez
was featured in the book Dance Across the USA by Jonathan Givens. Gonzalez regularly performs in a
variety of settings in the Twin Cities area, and is a member of the performing arts collective Rhythm
Street Movement.
Jeremy Boettcher is one of the most in-demand bassists in the upper Midwest, known for his virtuosity,
his iron beat, and his warm musical sympathy and sense of humor. Boettcher performs regularly around
the world, particularly in collaboration with renowned pianist Richard Johnson and saxophonist Sharel
Cassity and in association with Jazz and Lincoln Center. Boettcher also plays in various indie music
projects, notably Bon Iver drummer S. Carey’s solo project.
Paul Hecht performs regularly throughout the Midwest, with groups based in Chicago and Eau Claire.
Hecht’s background is unusual: he had a career as an English professor before moving into music full-
time in 2020. Hecht’s book about English poetry at the end of the sixteenth century, What Rosalind
Likes, was published in 2022 by Oxford University Press. He continues to write on various subjects,
mostly musical, on his Substack, ZLR. A first recording of his original compositions, Pyrography, will be
released on ears & eyes records in 2025.
Pete James Johnson is a drummer, composer and educator in the Twin Cities, most often seen playing
jazz and improvised music but is at home in a variety of musical worlds. He has performed with local
artists such as the Zacc Harris Group, Bryan Nichols, Javier Santiago, Omar Abdulkarim, and Dosh, as well
as international artists such as the Bob Mintzer Big Band, Alan Broadbent, Russ Ferrante, Alan Pasqua,
Ambrose Akinmusire, and Bob Sheppard.
