About

K A T I E E R N S T : B A S S I S T & V O C A L I S T

Katie Ernst is described by the Chicago Tribune as "a versatile bassist who plays in far-flung bands and sings with uncommon delicacy and authenticity." She is co-leader of the adventurous Chicago-based jazz trio Twin Talk, folk-jazz duo Wayfaring, and indie rock band Edith Judith. She has received widespread critical acclaim for her Dorothy Parker poetry song cycle Little Words, which premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. 

Katie Ernst is a touring member of indie folk band Iron & Wine. She is an active sidewoman in the jazz and improvised music communities of Chicago, and is a member bands including the Alvin Cobb Jr Trio, Mike Conrad Trio, John Raymond/S. Carey’s Shadowlands.

She travels throughout the US as a guest artist/clinician for young musicians. She serves on faculty at Birch Creek Music Performance Academy in Door County WI for the Jazz I summer program. Ernst joined the board of directors for the Jazz Institute of Chicago in 2023 and is a teaching artist for their jazz residency program in Chicago Public Schools. 

Katie Ernst holds a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies & Contemporary Media and a Bachelor of Musical Arts from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY where she studied double bass with Jeff Campbell and James VanDemark. 

C L I N I C S , R E S I D E N C I E S, T E A C H I N G

2025

  • guest artist, Linn Mar High School jazz ensembles, Marion, IA

  • clinician and panelist, New Trier Jazz Festival, Winnetka, IL

  • clinician, Mundelein Jazz Festival, Mundelein, IL

  • resident artist, Jazz Institute of Chicago’s Jazz Links Artist Residency Program, Whitney Young High School choir, Chicago, IL

  • ensemble residency, Theaster Gates’ Black Monks at Albuquerque Foundation, Sintra, Portugal

2024

  • guest artist (Wayfaring), Capilano University, North Vancouver, BC

  • guest artist (Wayfaring), Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 

  • guest artist (Wayfaring), Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ

  • guest artist/clinician, Coe College Jazz Summit, Cedar Rapids, IA

  • adjudicator/clinician, Jazz in the CHI Festival, Chicago, IL

  • resident artist, Jazz Institute of Chicago’s Jazz Links Artist Residency Program, Senn High School, Chicago, IL

  • guest artist/performance (Edith Judith), Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire, IL

  • guest artist/master class, Purdue University, Lafayette, IN

  • guest artist and clinician, ASU/Highland Jazz Festival, Phoenix, AZ

  • guest artist, UW LaCrosse ArtsFest, LaCrosse, WI

2023

  • performance/workshop with John Raymond & S. Carey Shadowlands, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire

  • resident artist, Jazz Institute of Chicago’s Jazz Links Artist Residency Program, Whitney Young HS jazz choir, Chicago, IL

  • performance/workshop w/ Mike Conrad Trio, UIndy, Indianapolis, IN

  • performance/workshop w/ Mike Conrad Trio, Ball State, Muncie, IN

  • guest artist and clinician, Metea Valley High School Jazz Concert, Aurora, IL

  • clinician and panelist, New Trier Jazz Festival, Winnetka, IL

  • guest artist and clinician, Sun Prairie Jazz Festival, Sun Prairie, WI 

  • guest artist and clinician, ASU/Highland Jazz Festival, Phoenix, AZ

2022

  • guest clinician and master class, UIC Jazz Festival, Chicago, IL

  • composer in residence, Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, IL 

  • guest artist (w/ Twin Talk), Prairie School, Racine, WI

  • artist in residence, Oregon Middle School and High School orchestra programs, Oregon, WI 

  • guest artist (w/ Katie Ernst Quartet), Jazz In the Meadows, Rolling Meadows, IL

  • resident artist, JIC Residency program at Whitney Young HS Choir, Chicago, IL

2021

  • virtual guest speaker, Evanston Township High School Equity Club, Evanston, IL

  • guest artist and master class, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA

  • guest director,  ILMEA District 9 Jazz Festival Honors Combo, Hampshire, IL

  • virtual master class, Wisconsin Conservatory of Music

2020

  • adjudicator, Jazz Institute of Chicago’s Jazz in the Chi Festival, Chicago, IL 

  • guest clinician/adjudicator, Sun Prairie Jazz Festival, Sun Prairie, WI 

  • guest artist and panelist, Women in Music Day at Francis Parker School, Chicago, IL 

  • guest clinician and Women in Jazz Panelist, New Trier Jazz Festival, Winnetka, IL

  • virtual master class, Midwest Young Artists Conservatory

  • virtual master class, After School Matters program, Chicago, IL

2019

  • guest artist (w/ Twin Talk), Mundelein Jazz Festival, Mundelein, IL 

  • guest performance and master class (w/ Twin Talk), Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 

  • guest artist, Women in Music Day at Francis Parker School, Chicago, IL 

  • guest artist and master class (w/ Wayfaring), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

2018

  • guest director, ILMEA District 7 Jazz Festival Jazz I Band, Waukegan, Illinois

  • guest artist and master class, Indian Trail High School, Kenosha, WI

  • guest performance, Cornell College Music Series, Cornell, IA

2016

  • guest artist and masterclass, Potomac School, McLean, VA 

  • podcast guest, Contrabass Conversations

photo by Erielle Bakkum, artist holding her double bass and looking right

P R E S S Q U O T E S

"...one of the brightest lights on Chicago’s jazz scene" —Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader

"Anyone who has attended Chicago jazz performances during the past couple of years probably has noticed her: a versatile young bassist who plays in far-flung bands and sings with uncommon delicacy and authenticity." —Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune

"Ernst sings with a tenderness and unpretentiousness that focus attention on the lyrics, not on the singer, a rare quality among contemporary jazz vocalists." —Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune

"The album [Little Words] is a concise set that winningly blends jazz, pop and classical elements, showcasing Ernst’s buttery alto and her creative way with melody."—John Frederick Moore, Jazziz Magazine

"The bassist, singer and composer makes music with a soft, tumbling momentum, somewhere between literate indie pop and low-lit vocal jazz." —Giovanni Russonello, CapitolBop (WASHINGTON, DC)

Chicago Jazz Festival Preview of TWIN TALK. "...the focal point of this exciting young Chicago trio is bassist Katie Ernst. On the group's self-released debut, Sightline, she not only exhibits excellent time but also reliably supplies melodic elaboration with her woody, muscular lines. She also sings occasionally, displaying the nuance and presence of a seasoned vocalist. —Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader

"Looks of a Lot, the SCP Jazz commission by pianist Jason Moran and visual artist Theaster Gates featuring the Kenwood Academy Jazz Band, received a triumphant world premiere May 30 at Symphony Center. Along with collaborators saxophonist Ken Vandermark, bassist/vocalist Katie Ernst and his group the Bandwagon, Mason and his crew created an unforgettable evening of music and community awareness." —CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Sounds & Stories