About the Band
The Essance Project Band was formed July, 2005 and has been performing ever since. We are a band of 8 accomplished musicians and singers from various bands. Our members have had twenty-plus years in the music industry collaborating with other musicians and writers such as: Neil Simon, Stanley Clarke, Maurice Starr, Sonny Williams, Michael Coleman, Grey Tyson (Temptations), Iajza, Chicago's Own, Essence II Band, and V. Holmes Motown Production.
Wendy and Jeffrey, also known as Nightwind, have performed together since the 1990s. A lifelong dancer, Wendy serves as the band's choreographer and has performed professionally in New York with dance legends Bill Luther and Joan Peters. In Chicago, she has performed with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble at the University of Chicago and Chicago's Black Ensemble Theater, under the direction of veteran actress Jackie Taylor.
Jeffrey began singing at the age of 8 with his brothers in Brooklyn, New York. Poetry and songwriting are his forte. Later he formed an R&B band and performed in college music productions.
Other band members have studied at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. Some members of the band also have performed at such well-known Chicago venues as the DuSable Museum of African-American History, the House of Blues, the Funky Buddha Lounge, and at the annual Taste of Chicago in Grant Park. Others have performed in and traveled to Las Vegas, California and other exciting locales.