Bob Hartig
Jazz saxophonist, storm chaser, freelance writer , and author of The Giant Steps Scratch Pad, Robert “Storm” Hartig has lived in West Michigan near Grand Rapids most of his life. He began playing the alto saxophone at age twelve, fell in love with the instrument, and has been playing it ever since. Bob’s musical experience spans four decades, starting in
eighth grade with a big band called The Formal Aires, which he played in through high school. The band provided Bob with an invaluable exposure to much of the standard jazz repertoire by such luminaries as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton, and Tommy Dorsey.
Following music studies at Aquinas College and Wayne State University, Bob amassed a wealth of practical experience in formats as diverse as jazz combos, studio horn sections, blues bands, black gospel choirs, church worship teams, and variety bands, in settings ranging from concerts to private parties to dinner clubs and more. View some of the artists, bands, recordings, and events Bob has worked with, and listen to audio samples, on his music page.
Respected as a skilled improviser with a superb technique, Bob is able to quickly grasp the needs of diverse musical settings, and to infuse them with an energy and inventiveness that take the music to the next level. Bob is deeply rooted in the bop and hard bop styles of players such as Phil Woods, Charlie Parker, and Cannonball Adderly. However, his tastes are eclectic, and his influences range from rock, R&B, and smooth jazz saxophonists such as David Sanborn, Dave Koz, and Eric Marienthal, to the inside/outside wizardry of tenor giants John Coltrane and Michael Brecker.
When not playing his saxophone, Bob is likely to be pursuing his other love, storm chasing—hence his nickname “Storm.” Bob’s passion for the beauty and drama of severe weather has taken him from the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, to the South Dakota badlands, to the flatlands and hills of “Dixie Alley,” to the prairies of Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, and other Midwestern states, and, of course, throughout Michigan. Bob’s fascination with severe weather got its start around the age of four when his father showed him some black-and-white plates of tornadoes in an old Encyclopaedia Brittanica. In 1965, the notorious April 11 Palm Sunday Outbreak devastated communities just twenty-five miles from Bob’s boyhood home in Niles, Michigan, leaving a lasting impact on Bob and fueling his already practically monomanic interest in tornadoes. Later in life, he decided to do something about his lifelong obsession and began actively pursuing tornadoes and severe storms. One of his life goals is to have a photo taken of himself playing his saxophone out on the Great Plains while a massive wedge churns in the background.
Besides being a jazz saxophonist and storm chaser, Bob is also a freelance writer and the proprietor of The CopyFox copywriting and editorial service. Having served for 14 years as the copy manager for Zondervan, he has particular expertise in copywriting for the evangelical publishing market.
Contact Bob to inquire about:
* recording projects, private or company parties, wedding receptions, concerts, club dates, and other events.
* articles, brochures, book jackets, emails, blog content, catalogs, reviews, ad copy, web content, editing, and proofreading.
Purchase Eyes on Mars, Bob’s free-jazz CD created in collaboration with well-known West Michigan percussionist, composer, and producer Ric Troll.
Order Bob’s book The Giant Steps Scratch Pad, available in Eb, Bb, C, and bass clef editions. A collection of 155 licks and patterns, the book is designed to help jazz improvisers develop the technique and creativity necessary in order to master Coltrane changes.
