“After years of fielding compliments for his diverse guitar work on behalf of the jazz/fusion band Random Walk and the likes of New Age artists Peter Buffett and Grammy Award Winner and Native American flute virtuoso Douglas Spotted Eagle, guitarist and prolific composer Bill Bonifas finally decided to step out as a leader in his own right. Bill is an inveterate swinger with abundant chops and an encyclopedic knowledge of jazz harmony, along with an inviting, warm tone and a flowing, legato approach to soloing. The Bonifas Electric Band is Bill’s most exciting ensemble to date,” says international New York jazz critic Bill Milkowski. 

As a jazz-fusion aficionado, Bill was the lead guitarist and composer of the 80’s and 90’s jazz/rock fusion, Random Walk (RW). Internationally known guitarist Daryl Stuermer of Phil Collins Genesis fame produced RW’s recording Mile One, while Narada Music label distributed. Due to their unique sound, RW was in demand not only for their concerts, but for commercial work and as backup for others, such as Narada artist and film composer Peter Buffett. Bill then went on to lend diverse guitar tracks to Peter Buffett’s movie, commercial soundtracks and albums. 

He toured with Grammy Award winning, Native American, flute-virtuoso, Douglas Spotted Eagle, to locales such as the Catalina Jazz Festival in California, Summerfest in Milwaukee, Jazz Yatra festival in Mumbai, India, and at the opening celebrations of the 2002 Olympics held in Salt Lake City. The Sundance channel filmed and aired this performance internationally. The band was also asked 24-hours beforehand to learn new music and support the African-based Jabali Afrika for the same international television appearance as the special guest of actor Robert Redford.

After this phase of his career, Bill set aside his multiple guitar effects for a few years to raise a family and concentrated on studying jazz. He embraced a more traditional sound working with great teachers such as Peter Bernstein, Gene Bertoncini and Mark Davis. To this end, 14-time Grammy Award winner, bassist and all-around creative collaborator Steve Rodby of Pat Metheny Group, produced Bill’s recording HeartStrings, which features Mark Davis on piano, Jeff Hamann on bass and Dave Bayles on drums. Steve has also been a special guest performing with Bill’s band over the years.

Bill was awarded the Manty Ellis Award for his support of jazz, and composer and educator Fred Sturm selected Bill to receive the first ever Jazz Alumni Award from Lawrence University. The Milwaukee Art Museum also commissioned Bill to write music for their Shape Takes Sound series. He has underwritten multiple concerts and Master Classes featuring Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein, Bill Stewart, Charles McPherson, Brian Lynch, and others. 

With his years of experience, Bill serves as a board member of the Milwaukee Jazz Institute and was a past board member of the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, where he served as a chairman. 

Bill formed his current ensemble, the Bonifas Electric Band, to feature Grammy Award winning trumpeter Brian Lynch for a concert in 2017. Brian joined Bill in the jazz-fusion portion of a night dedicated to the legends of Milwaukee jazz at Milwaukee’s Jazz in the Park. At that performance, members of the Milwaukee Ballet loved the sound fusion of an elegant trumpet with an edgy rock guitar.

The Ballet then requested the band to perform original music in early 2018, and the group has been performing since. Besides Bill, the ensemble includes Theo Merriweather on keyboards, Eric Hervey on bass and Reggie Bordeaux on drums. When Brian is touring elsewhere, Milwaukee’s Eric Jacobson brings his own special trumpet sound to Bill’s original composed music.