KAMIKAZE GROUND CREW
March 10, 2026
A seven-piece horn ensemble (3 brass, 3 reeds and a drummer, with occasional piano, accordion and/or electric guitar), a super-group of New York “downtown”lluminaries, each a band-leader in their own right, KAMIKAZE GROUND CREW has been performing and recording together for over 30 years, on both coasts of the US and in Europe. Past performances include “Forever Weird: Microscopic Kamikaze Jazz Passengers” at The Kitchen NYC (2017). Others include the 2006 San Francisco Jazz Festival and Seattle Earshot Jazz Festival, where they premiered PORTRAITS, Ms. Leishman’s commission from Chamber Music America. Concerts in Europe include the Donaueschingen Music Festival in Germany, Vossa Jazz Festival in Norway, Frankfurt Jazz Festival in Germany and SJU Festival in the Netherlands. New York venues include Merkin Hall, The Kitchen, Joe’s Pub, and Tonic.
Members of the band have worked with Bill Frisell, Henry Threadgill, Duke Ellington, Stevie Wonder, Norah Jones, Don Cherry, Carla Bley, Lester Bowie, John Zorn, Craig Handy, John Lurie’s Lounge Lizards, Tom Waits, Lou Reed, Anoni, Trey Anastasio, and many others.
They have released five albums: two on New World Records’ CounterCurrent series, two on Koch Jazz, and one on Busmeat Records (see Discography). The first recording was released in 1985, the fifth in 2007. The latest, number 6, is due for release some time in 2026.
The original band was formed for the Broadway run of the Flying Karamazov Brothers’ Juggling and Cheap Theatrics in 1983, but soon evolved into a vehicle for original composition, whilst continuing to do the occasional theatrical collaboration (including their legendary production of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors at Lincoln Center – also broadcast live on PBS – and Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival). Originally based in San Francisco, the all-New York line-up was first put together in 1995, and is:
Gina Leishman, co-leader, alto and baritone sax, bass clarinet, accordion, piano, vocals
Doug Wieselman, co-leader, Eb, Bb & bass clarinets, tenor & baritone sax, guitar
Peter Apfelbaum, tenor sax
Steven Bernstein, trumpet & slide trumpet
Art Bsron/Brian Drye, trombone
Marcus Rojas, tuba
Kenny Wollesen, drums & percussion
Alumni of the band include Michael Blake, Ralph Carney, Bud Chase, Jeff Cressman, Danny Frankel, Bob Lipton, Paul Magid, Roy Nathanson, Howard Patterson, and Mike Sarin.