Piano / Keyboard:  Daniel Padrón

Wild Rice band leader Daniel Padrón was born in Caracas, Venezuela.  He was exposed to jazz and Latin music at an early age by his father, though he also credits his American mother for influencing his musical style.  When he was young, he clearly preferred Latin music over jazz, because one can often dance to Latin music more easily.  Later on, he acquired a much greater liking for jazz, and now incorporates both into his musical style.  He has written several original Latin jazz pieces that are performed by Wild Rice.

Daniel began studying piano at age 13 and eventually went on to earn a BA in music from Georgia State University.  Daniel has performed as a jazz piano soloist as well as with many artists in Atlanta including Dave Bass, Rebecca Windham, Sam Skelton, and was a member of the band The Soulutions during the mid-1990's.   Daniel recently completed recording a solo piano CD of original compositions.  You can find out more about him and his music on his website www.danielpadron.com

Trumpet:   Paul Poovey 

Paul Poovey is a versatile trumpeter who received his formal music training from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (B.M. Performance, 1996) and the University of Missouri at Columbia (M.M. Performance, 1999).  His diverse credits include performing on the same bill as the Charlie Daniels Band, Latin music stars Joe Arroyo, Victor Manuelle, and Los Van Van, and as a sideman for Contemporary Christian artist Larnelle Harris, to name a few. 

Saxophone:  Jason Matthias

Hailing from central New York, Jason is a saxophonist and reed doubler now living in Roswell, GA. He holds Bachelor's degrees in both Music and Marketing.  Jason has been a freelance performer in the Atlanta area for over seven years.  He has performed and recorded with many local and national acts including the Temptations, Freddie Cole, Outkast, Tom Grose and the Varsity, Soul Purpose, and the Gwinnett Philharmonic Orchestra.  He currently performs throughout metro Atlanta and teaches privately.

Bass:  John Hancotte

John Hancotte grew up in northern Virginia, attended Virginia Tech, studied jazz guitar in Washington D.C. with Paul Bollenbeck, and in 1988 relocated to Atlanta to attend Georgia State University.  He received a BS in Commercial Music: Recording and managed to soak up as much of the fledging jazz scene that the sprawling greater-Atlanta area could offer.  Since leaving his position in the early 1990’s as bassist in the jam-happy rock band Jellyroll, John has fashioned a revolving role as utility-man in several local Atlanta combos.  John dreams of being the complete bassist, and enjoys the different attributes that each of his six basses bring.  He typically plays the acoustic upright in Wild Rice.  His strongest bass influences are probably Paul Chambers, Marcus Miller, Tony Levin, and James Jamerson. 

Drums:  Reece Harris

Bio coming soon  

Percussion:  Gaurav Malhotra

Gaurav has made a name for him self playing percussion around Atlanta and the Southeast. Learning from his teacher Count M Butu, he has jammed and toured with bands such as Ancient Harmony, Blueground Undergrass, Futureman, The Stained Souls, Widespread Panic, Ekoostic Hookah, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and is currently a member of Soularcat.