How this young artist will long surpass Kenny-G

Happen over to a coffee shop somewhere in Mobile, and you’re likely to run into Nathan Woodward: he’ll look up from a mac computer with quick lightning blue eyes, flash you a smile, and give you an accent-less, professional hello. Then he’ll be back to whatever he’s working on. And I’m sure if you had a chance to see what he was working on, you’d be interested. For Nathan Woodward, since he was about 12, has been in the limelight. With television appearances in his teens and constant gigging for as long, Nathan Woodward is a man of many talents...but the one you’ll witness at vivace is why he’s referred to casually by leaders in the music industry as the new Kenny-G... 

Nathan plays sax...but that’s not a fair statement. Nathan rocks the saxophone. That statement still doesn’t do justice, because if you heard him on itunes you’d think you were listening to someone who has been playing for forty years. You’ll listen to his cool jazz band open, and then out jumps this smooth sax sound, sailing beautifully, easily. You will be blown away, but you shouldn’t be. For Nathan is a perfectionist, the type of guy that will spend hours on the small details, that will look at project with a stone-cold contemplative face and then calmly improve upon what is already excellent. You’d think that Nathan would have been in the business for 40 years. But Nathan is not even 40 years old. He’s not even 30. Nope. He’s 22. And when you learn that, you are astounded, because you are listening to someone beyond good. 

It’s a miracle. 

And even better, Nathan is not playing for himself. 

He’s playing for God. 

Nathan’s talents are not his own, and he is clear about that. His work is not a reflection of himself, or even a celebration of himself. His celebration, his talent, his desire, comes down to worship. That is why this prodigy is such an asset to vivace. Of course, he is quickly moving out of the prodigy brand, the term thrown around when he was younger. A new term is emerging for Nathan: master. On January 26th, you’ll have the opportunity to see Nathan play with his band (and it’s not the first time he’s played with Huckabee). 

He’ll be on the main stage. Get ready to rock.