Bill Shreeve Bio
Bill plays Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Baritone Saxophones, Flute, Piccolo, EWI (electonic wind instrument) and hand percussion.
Billʼs 2008 CD release, “Feel This” won a nomination for best jazz album 2008 by the San Diego Music Awards and San Diego Music Academy.
Bill has been performing professionally since 1976 in a variety of musical ensembles from small jazz groups, to 17 piece big band orchestras, to top 40 and rock bands. Bill has performed with Fattburger, Peter Sprague, Steve Laury, Bill Watros, Jaime Valle, Hollis Gentry, The Coasters, Danny Gans Orchestra, The Temptations, Charo, local cover bands Haute Chile, NRG, Liquid Blue, Soul Persuaders, Diva Soul, The Heroes, Kicks, Baytown Band and many others. He is a freelance woodwind player in a variety of pop, rock, and jazz groups in the Southern California region.
Bill is strongly influenced by a diverse bunch of Saxophone luminaries including Stan Getz, Paul Desmond, Cannonball Adderley, Phil Woods, Michael Brecker, Brandon Fields, David Sanborn, Eric Marienthal, and Hollis Gentry to name a few. In the early eightyʼs, Bill began leading his own jazz groups, Tangerine, The Shreeve Brothers, and then The Bill Shreeve Sextet performing at all the popular jazz nightclub venues throughout the San Diego region.
In 1985, Bill created what was to become one of Southern Californiaʼs more popular dance bands, Aire Play. Aire Play performs almost exclusively at corporate events, weddings, and private parties of every nature and features five to twelve musicians. Aire Play delivers a wide selection of material from current top 40, rock, soul, disco, R & B, contemporary and classic jazz, swing, Latin, and big band era music. Bill also formed and leads the band Summer Wind featuring a classic Sinatra/Dean Martin/Bobby Darin vocal repertoire featuring Dave Scott on vocals. Bill also leads the Wind Surfers a high quality Oldies, Rock and Soul corporate band featuring amazing vocals from the Beach Boys to James Brown. Another southern California favorite is Billʼs islands music band, Caribbean Sax and Steel. And of course, corporate event planners in the know rely on Bill for his world class instrumental and vocal jazz groups from solo to 8 pieces or more!
Billʼs jazz playing remains a big focus of his attention and he has been a featured artist for over 15 years on Mondays at Croceʼs Jazz bar (San Diegoʼs iconic jazz club) performing with Monsoon (featuring Billʼs original material), and with the Latin Jazz group Yavaz at Croceʼs on Fridays. In 2014 Bill received the coveted Jim Croce award for excellence and dedication to music.