ZAE CONNIE
Growing up in the Chicago suburb of South Holland, IL, Hosea “Zae” Connie was inspired by all of the R&B greats like Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind & Fire and Kool & the Gang – but for years, his personal musical focus was on classical clarinet, his first instrument. Then one day, when he was about 15, he accidentally turned to 95.5 FM on the dial and heard Kirk Whalum’s classic tune “The Wave”. This sparked a passion for urban jazz that led him to discover urban jazz sax masters Kim Waters, Walter Beasley, Najee, Candy Dulfer and Mindi Abair. He played clarinet in band for another year, but hearing their music led him to switch to saxophone – and he has not looked back since. His passion for fusing jazz and soul has led him on an exciting journey of discovery which now leads to his emergence as a solo recording artist.