Artists
Vulfpeck is an American funk group founded in 2011 based in Los Angeles. The band has released four EPs, six albums, and a silent album on Spotify titled Sleepify, royalties from which funded Vulfpeck’s admission-free tour in 2014. The band’s most recent album, Schvitz, was released in December 2022.
The band members attended University of Michigan’s music school. They first came together as a rhythm section for a performance at the Duderstadt Center, a university facility that houses an arts library and other resources. After reading an interview with German producer Reinhold Mack, band founder Jack Stratton conceived of Vulfpeck as an imagined German version of the U.S. session musicians of the 1960s such as the Funk Brothers, the Wrecking Crew, and Muscle Shoals. The idea was to channel that era of the live rhythm section.
The band’s founding members are Jack Stratton on keyboards, drums and guitar, Theo Katzman on guitar, drums and vocals, Woody Goss on keyboards, and Joe Dart on bass. Touring partners and frequent collaborators include Antwaun Stanley, Joey Dosik and Cory Wong. Other contributing musicians include Charles Jones, Christine Hucal, David T. Walker, Bernard Purdie, James Gadson and Blake Mills.
As much as he treasures his roles as a guitarist, composer, and producer, Cory Wong fashions himself “a hype man,” first and foremost. Living up to this classification, he slings a Stratocaster and hurls “dad jokes” from the stage with the same panache, poise, and power.
Moreover, he consistently translates motivation into seismic six-string transmissions throughout his independent third full-length record, Motivational Music for the Syncopated Soul.
“For me, it’s all about the listener’s experience,” he explains. “I want them to have a visceral response like: ‘I feel better,’ ‘That was really fun,’ or ‘I got to escape for an hour.’ You’ll hear my voice through the guitar, but I’m just a hype man. To uplift audiences with instrumental music that has no singing or lyrics is a fun challenge. I’m trying to solve the riddle. If I can get one person to feel good this way, it’s a success. So, I’m giving you Motivational Music for the Syncopated Soul.”
Louis Cole is a Los Angeles based singer songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalists. Celebrated as one of the world’s most future-sonic-funk drummers and co-founder of KNOWER, his mission is “to create deep feelings through music.” Cole has proudly been DIY to date, amassing millions of views with his viral videos like ‘ Bank Account ’, and arrives with his third album debut ‘Time’ out now on Brainfeeder.
‘Time’ is – a casual but addictive LP, with a blend of quickfire, hook-laden electro-funk bullets and wistful, soft-focus balladry – and it’s compelling. “A lot of it is little thoughts, that I made into big songs… blasts of inspiration that I was lucky enough to receive.”
Taj Mahal can rightly be called a living legend for his contribution to popular music. With a voice as instantly recognizable as that of Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, or Johnny Cash, Taj Mahal has pushed the boundaries of African American music throughout his career by incorporating sounds from the Caribbean, Africa, traditional blues, and jazz. He has won three Grammy Awards out of 14 nominations, been inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association.
Taj Mahal fans know that he began working with Ry Cooder in the Los Angeles band The Rising Sons in the mid-60s. His first two solo albums on Columbia, Taj Mahal (1967) and The Natch’l Blues (1968), are two of the most influential blues albums of all time…!
Never one to be confined, he has recorded more styles of roots music than any other artist. His recordings include music from the Caribbean, Hawaii, Africa, and India, as well as gospel, rock, early R&B, children’s music, soundtracks, and nearly every type of acoustic and electric blues.
A historic monument not to be missed!
An old Armenian folktale about the search for world harmony spectacularly comes to life with a concert in a fantastic moving stage setting with an intriguing light show.
The virtuoso jazz-meets-rock pianist and composer Tigran Hamasyan won a major award at North Sea Jazz and has been named International Artist of the Year 2021 in Germany. Having returned to Armenia from the United States, he ingeniously blends traditional music from his birth country into his compositions and improvisations. For The Bird of a Thousand Voices, he is collaborating with director Ruben Van Leer, known for his poetic, ground-breaking transmedia projects, and with visual artist Boris Acket handling the scenography. With Hamasyan’s brand-new semi-improvised music, the angelic singing voice of Areni Agbabian, textual adaptation by Florian Hellwig and an interactive light installation, they bring the myth preoccupying Hamasyan since childhood to life.
The mythological bird appears in many different cultures and often symbolises resurrection and awakening. In the Armenian tradition, its power is found in its song. In order to find the Bird of a Thousand Voices, “the path of no return” must first be taken through black, white and red worlds with endless deserts, cold mountain winters, turbulent rivers and hunted by condemnations, betrayal and forty-headed demons…
Abdullah Ibrahim (who has also recorded as Dollar Brand) is one of South Africa’s most famous musicians. Born under the apartheid regime, where jazz music was seen as an act of resistance, his music is often referred to as representing freedom. His major anti-apartheid anthem “Mannenberg” (released as “Capetown Fringe” in the US) has come to be regarded as an unofficial national anthem in South Africa, and he even performed at Nelson Mandela’s inauguration, where Mandela referred to him as “our Mozart”. He’s played with everyone from Duke Ellington to Max Roach, John Coltrane to Ornette Coleman, and is the father of underground rapper Jean Grae.
Abdullah Ibrahim was also recently awarded “The Order of the Rising Sun” by Japan’s government – one of the country’s top honours. Abdullah was one of several foreign recipients of the 2020 Spring Imperial awards conferred by His Majesty, the Emperor of Japan. The award was being given to Abdullah in recognition of his lifetime achievement in emancipating the people of South Africa and the world through his music, as well as his contribution to Japan-South African friendship through his works, performances and profound understanding of Japanese culture and spirituality.
Get ready for a groundbreaking musical journey as the unparalleled double bassist Adam Ben Ezra hosts the spectacular drummer Michael Olivera (Alfredo Rodriguez, Richard Bona) for an exciting new project! With his boundless creativity, Adam is set to release in late 2024 an innovative album that will feature Michael’s incredible drumming and will completely redefine the bass and drums relationship, taking grooves to a whole new level and creating a sound that is both fresh and timeless, drawing inspiration from a variety of musical genres and traditions.
To celebrate the release of Adam’s highly anticipated album, Michael will also be joining Adam on his next tour that will showcase their incredible chemistry and musical mastery as they perform tracks from the new album alongside fresh arrangements of beloved tunes from Adam’s past albums. This promises to be a one-of-a-kind live experience that will leave you awe-inspired and craving for more.
With Adam’s virtuosic double bass skills and Michael’s exceptional drumming abilities, this duo is breaking new ground in their exploration of melody, rhythm and improvisation, creating a sound that is truly mesmerizing. Prepare to be swept away by the groove with Adam Ben Ezra and Michael Olivera!
“A fresh and unique style that bridges the old school jazz tradition of musicians such as Betty Carter and Wayne Shorter with the raw, rootsy modern sound of artists such as D’Angelo.” A significant and unique new voice on the London circuit, this rising vocalist and bassist is pushing the boundaries of jazz whilst upholding its traditions, earning her early critical acclaim and ardent fans.
A recent signing to Jazz Re:Freshed, the rising vocalist and bassist celebrates art, freedom and black pride on her latest EP ‘All Black Everything’, following her Jazz FM and BBC Radio 6 (Jamz Supernova) celebrated single ‘Everything I Do’.
After appearances at We Out Here, Cheltenham Jazz Festival, and Brick Lane Jazz Festival, we now take this trailblazer to the intimacy of 91 Living Room for London Jazz Festival.
Launched in 2014 under the impetus of Leo Fumagalli (saxophone), Lilian Mille (trumpet, keyboards), and Tiss Rodriguez (drums, percussion), Bada-Bada operates on instinct and improvisation. This might be a result of their jazz studies at the Centre des Musiques Didier Lockwood (CMDL), a Parisian school where the three musicians met. Driven by an insatiable thirst for experimentation, the Franco-Swiss trio does not confine itself to a single musical genre. Whether acoustic or electronic, both jazz and ambient, contemplative or rhythmic, their music takes listeners on a journey and is inspired as much by Guillaume Perret and Björk as by Boards of Canada or Son Lux. Their debut album, Portraits, released in January, brings together all these influences, adding their unique touch that makes all the difference.
Twice Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Becca Stevens has established an outstanding career of blending effortless vocal talent with exquisite compositions that draw inspiration from pop, jazz, indie-rock, and folk music traditions. Her music stretches the boundaries of convention with songs that weave together her classical and Appalachian folk music upbringing with her love of the rich rhythms and harmonies of jazz and world music, further enhanced and accompanied by her skill on multiple string instruments.
Her upcoming album, Maple to Paper (GroundUP ’24), is an illuminating glimpse into her most private moments of grief and transcendence, rendered with both stunning clarity and heartfelt devotion to music’s alchemical powers. Working at her home studio in New Jersey, she slowly dreamed up a stripped-down sound rooted in her spellbinding guitar work and raw yet luminous vocal performance. Recorded live with no overdubs and mixed by Stevens’ frequent collaborator Nic Hard (Snarky Puppy, Huntertones), Maple to Paper offsets its exacting minimalism with an emotional force that envelops the listener right from the outset of the record.
Brique Argent releases his neuroses and hopes in French lyrics that take the form of confessions, shared over punchy electronic productions or delicate piano-and-vocal arrangements, always on the edge. This new hope from Saint-Étienne knows how to handle balance—devotional but not always, gentle without being dull, literary without being pompous. And always with a lot of poetry.
“When I first said that I was going to do it most people said, ‘Nice one…that’s never going to happen.’” Major recalls with a laugh. “A lot of people thought it was overly aspirational: it probably was.”
In 2018, London based Bruno, went on to sell out headlining tours in Asia, Europe and two tours in the US, make his TV debut on the Late Late Show with James Corden, his festival debut at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival and tour with Sam Smith in the UK that included multiple sold- out shows at London’s O2 arena.
Starting off 2019 with the release of ‘Old Fashioned’, the first release from his upcoming album, Bruno took to the road in the North America testing out his new songs on another sold out tour. ‘Nothing’, a half finished track written with Raelee Nikole, quickly became a crowd favorite. The reaction was so special that on returning from tour Bruno immediately set about finishing and recording the track. Released September 2019, ‘Nothing’ shows Bruno at his most stripped down; just his voice, his beautiful guitar-playing and a drum machine ticking in the background.
Known for her remarkable achievements as a jazz singer, including a prestigious nomination at the Victoires du Jazz in 2021, Célia Kameni embarks on a new artistic experiment with Méduse. This project diverges from her previous work while maintaining the same magnetism that defines her artistry. In Méduse, Célia’s deep, textured voice converges with themes of sensitivity. Thibault Gomez’s prepared piano resonates with emotional urgency, while Juliette Serrad’s haunting cello timbre adds layers of complexity. Giani Caserrotto and his effects-laden guitar, along with Julien Loutelier’s drums, bring another level of artistic innovation, intertwining harmoniously with ethereal synthesizers to create a soundscape that defies traditional classifications.
While echoes of Nina Simone, Björk, and Nick Drake are reflected in her music, the project also aligns with contemporary artists like Moses Sumney, Shida Shahabi, and Arooj Aftab. Célia’s vocal art is a genuine quest for visceral emotion, with her voice serving as a channel for unspoken feelings. The result is a harmonious blend of sound and sentiment, where vulnerability and authenticity reign supreme. More than just a collection of songs, it is an exploration of the human experience, an invitation to immerse oneself in its complex narratives, feel the pulse of emotions woven into each note, and witness the transformative power of shared artistic expression.
Charlie Motto sings a fantastic and danceable pop, both crystalline and touching. Inspired by the lyrical pop of Kate Bush and Caroline Polachek, she captivates us with her head voice and soaring melodies.
Originally from the south of France, Charlie Motto received classical piano and vocal training and honed her skills by recording covers that she adapted to her own style. In parallel with her music studies in 2021, she met Balthazar Picard with whom she began crafting impactful electropop productions that highlight her crystalline head voice.
As a singer-songwriter and performer, she released her debut EP ‘Citadelle’ on February 8, 2024, offering a glimpse into the intimate world of an introverted young woman. The music is pop-oriented, melodious, sometimes incisive, hybrid, drawing inspiration from polyphony, French chanson, and hyperpop.
Cherise is “one of the women driving jazz and soul forward in the UK,” according to the British magazine Clash. The 27-year-old London singer impresses with her captivating soul voice and dream collaborations. She has already accompanied Jamie Cullum on a European tour and opened for Michael Kiwanuka at the Olympia. Her recent projects have taken her into the world of film. Gregory Porter invited her to record a Christmas song for Disney, and she made her acting debut in the latest Downton Abbey feature film. Her sole EP features four timeless songs that showcase her talent as a songwriter, and it’s rumored that she will soon emerge from the studio with her first album.
Cisco Swank (a.k.a. Francisco Haye) is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and producer from Brooklyn who is an incredible talent to watch in New York’s R&B, jazz, and hip-hop communities. His critically acclaimed debut solo album, More Better, is a genre-spanning tour de force that features Laura Elliott, Ambrose Akinmusire, Luke Titus and more. Praised as “a rising multi-hyphenate” by Okayplayer and i-D and compared to luminaries like MIKE and Earl Sweatshirt by The New York Times, Cisco is cementing his status as a major player in hip-hop and jazz. While completing his studies at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, Cisco released the acclaimed collaborative album, Some Things Take Time, with Luke Titus in 2022 and has worked with a diverse slate of artists including Saba, Noname, Braxton Cook, Malaya, and Julius Rodriguez.
Clown Core is an anonymous band from Nevada. Fusing Jazz, Metal, Noise and Circus music, they create a bizarre, experimental style that pairs with their abstract music videos. The band consists of drummer Louis Cole and an anonymous saxophonist who is widely theorized to be Sam Gendel. Both also perform vocals and synth. Almost nothing else is known about them. They first appeared on YouTube in 2008, where they uploaded music videos until the release of their self titled debut in 2010. They disappeared around 2011, only uploading cryptic teaser videos in 2014 and 2017.
In 2018, they returned with the release of Toilet alongside multiple YouTube music videos. These videos also aired on Adult Swim with minor alterations for TV. They once again disappeared the same year, uploading only a teaser in 2019.
In 2020, the band started uploading more videos to YouTube throughout the year, until the release of Van in September. These videos introduced a third member, wearing a ski-mask, that simply drives the van that the band perform in and does not contribute to the music. He later opened for the band on their first tour under the name DJ Driver.
In 2021, a short EP titled 1234 was uploaded to NFT marketplace OpenSea. It was released onto streaming services later that year. The band announced a World Tour in December, asking fans to send city names via their email.
Damien Fleau is part of a generation of composers who do everything themselves, a multi-instrumentalist. Trained as a saxophonist and pianist, this musician with diverse influences is primarily passionate about the cinematic world. His references range from Mozart, Ravel, Wagner, and Ennio Morricone to Nils Frahm, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. His stage experience brings a particular openness and sensitivity to his creation.
“Breaking Waves” is his debut solo album. It features powerful music composed around the piano, supported by atmospheric synthesizer pads and electronic sounds. The album immerses listeners in the theme of waves, capturing their random, elusive, and untamed movements.
Donny McCaslin is one of those uncommon artists who set their course without paying attention at the fashion world. He lightens and researches a sound material in a specific direction, with a certain perseverance, convinced to be on the right track.
Several albums under his name and multiple collaborations have made him a key player in the New York underground scene. It is another visionary who will hear in his music an original and powerful sound: David Bowie. Calling him for the production of his latest album: Blackstar, he saw in him the holder of an innovative speech and aesthetics that has no equivalent on the scene today.
It must be said that his quartet, which released Beyond Now last October on the Motema label, is a reference in the field: Jason Lindner, Tim Lefebvre and Mark Guiliana – with whom he has worked for more than 5 years – is one of the the craziest rhythmic of the moment on the jazz planet. The power that emerges is unique. And this album is clearly the consecration of an artist without concession, whose music is fully in tune with his time.
The LA-based singer-songwriter, producer, archer and Dr. Mario enthusiast (“I keep my Switch in my back pocket most days”). A creative tornado, Genevieve is known for being the force in KNOWER, Expensive Magnets and her former band Pollyn, signing to Brainfeeder to release a sparkling solo album “Dizzy Strange Summer” in 2020. The following year she also collaborated with Thundercat, Raedio and Louis Cole…
Ghost-Note are a percussion-based funk, hip hop and jazz group from Dallas, Texas, with a rotating membership based around founding drummer Robert “Sput” Searight and founding percussionist Nate Werth, two members of the jazz band Snarky Puppy. The group also includes bassist MonoNeon, a.k.a. Dywane Thomas Jr., keyboardist Dominique Xavier Taplin, saxophonist/flutist Michael Jelani Brooks, saxophonist/flutist Jonathan Mones, and saxophonist/flutist Sylvester Onyejiaka. Ghost-Note’s two albums – Fortified and Swagism – both reached No. 1 on the iTunes Jazz Chart…
Gianluca Petrella is an Italian jazz trombonist. In 2001 he won Italy’s Django d’Or Award as well as Musica Jazz’s annual critics poll as Best Young Talent. In 2006 and 2007 he was featured in Down Beat magazine, winning their award for “Best Emerging Artist” in the category for Best Trombonist.
Gin Tonic Orchestra is a live band that pays homage to electronic music by offering an improvised and transcendent club music experience.
Their musical journey blends synthesizers, 90s samplers, and a rhythm section on stage, creating a unique mix. Whether in the studio or on stage, Gin Tonic Orchestra captivates the audience with their explorations and adventurous spirit, pushing the boundaries of musical genres and leading the audience into a state of trance.
The band plans to release an EP at the end of 2024, continuing their quest to merge live music with club culture!
Pianist and composer Gonzalo Rubalcaba was already a young phenomenon with a budding career in his native Cuba when he was discovered by Dizzy Gillespie in 1985. Since, Piano & Keyboard Magazine selected him in 1999 as one of the great pianists of the 20th century, alongside figures such as Glenn Gould, Martha Argerich and Bill Evans; he has won two Grammys and two Latin Grammys, and established himself as a creative force in the jazz world.
For the first time, his performing a duet with Aymée Nuviola, his dear Habana childhood friend, and both explore something out of be-bops, afro-Cuban and jazz usual forms, with a fusion Cuban type of music as surprising as unique.
Multi-talented artist and rapper Harry Mack is best known for his unique, jaw-dropping visual freestyle rapping. He first came to fame when his Venice Beach Freestyle video went viral, which propelled him to opportunities alongside the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, Soulja Boy, Ellen DeGeneres, Jennifer Hudson, Complex Music, RedBull Music, and NBA on TNT.
As a content creator, his self-produced YouTube series have amassed millions of views. Harry has surprised, impacted, and entertained millions of people, leaving them with something unique that they can’t wait to share with others. His content and live shows promote positivity and keep fans engaged through mind-blowing interactive performances.
Harry’s background in jazz drumming is a reflection of his life-long fascination with improvisational music. His unique approach to hip-hop revolves around the spirit of rhythmic improv. Blending the excitement of instrumental jazz improvisation with the impactful messages of hip-hop lyricism, Harry constantly strives to push the boundaries of his own abilities, while reaching for new approaches to rap expression.
In his sixth album, Hugh Coltman grapples with his shadows. Grief, fatherhood, a midlife crisis, and the vertigo of the times: the rock crooner with the oh-so-British accent doesn’t hold back. Adorned with jazz, folk, and blues, his intensely poetic songs hit you right in the heart.
Recorded in one of the spacious rooms of the La Frette mansion near Paris, where the Arctic Monkeys had just completed their latest album, Good Grief brings back the elements that made Night Trippin’ a success, with the same team: live takes without headphones, with everyone in the same room and minimal overdubs. This setup, as close to the music as possible, reveals the raw truth, intentions, and essence of each of the ten songs. ‘It was important to work as a group, for everyone to be present 24/7, solely focused on this,’ Hugh reveals.
Out of the vibrant Chicago scene, multi-instrumentalist, composer, curator, activist and educator Isaiah Collier has made a name for himself most notably as a saxophone player, be it with his own projects, as part of Angel Bat Dawid’s Brotherhood or at the side of artists like Chance The Rapper, Waddada Leo Smith III, Junius Paul and many more. Cosmic Transitions, his third and latest release with his band The Chosen Few came out in 2021, earning a five star review from Downbeat and multiple Album of the year mentions amongst other praise. The powerful suite was recorded at Rudy Van Gelder’s legendary Studio on Coltrane’s birthday, using some of the same analog equipment that was used for the original recording session of A Love Supreme. It not only showcases Collier’s extensive musical range and expressive talent, but achieves to honor the tradition in which it inscribes itself, whilst also remaining decisively forward-looking.
The five members of Ishkero have always moved forward together, sharing a long history that has continuously fueled the fire around which the project gathers.
This fire is driven by a rhythm with explosive groove, where solos and incandescent crescendos burst and dart from all directions, delivering a unique new jazz crossover rock sound. But this dazzling eruption of energy is immediately followed by a soft and nurturing light, diffused through a dreamy soundscape enriched with ambient textures and effects.
Fundamentally metamorphic in their approach to composition, Ishkero plays with this dual fire to constantly reshape their pieces from one concert to the next, molding a progressive jazz that is in perpetual pursuit of renewal.
JaRon Marshall was born in Louisiana and grew up in Loreauville, where he played piano in the village church orchestra from the age of 11. Eager to expand his horizons, he moved to Texas, where he met Adrian Quesada and Eric Burton, who were in the midst of writing the psychedelic-soul compositions for Austin’s Black Pumas. Marshall joined the band as part of their backing group. In his own compositions, the keyboard virtuoso draws inspiration from figures like Chris Dave, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Kamasi Washington, Grover Washington, and Robert Glasper, offering a jazz sound connected to hip-hop and other related genres.
Flutist, singer, and composer Joce Mienniel is an extraordinary and boundary-less artist with pure and captivating aesthetics. His new project, The Dreamer, is an electrifying and profoundly poetic album inspired by dreams, where Joce reveals all the dreamlike swirls of his inner world. In this work, Joce Mienniel composes and harmonizes the night in his own way, with each piece designed as a chromatic blend of notes and lights.
To continuously expand his realm of play and inspiration, Joce Mienniel has long explored various extended techniques on the flute. The musicians surrounding him also embrace this open-minded approach, combining electronic, rock, and minimalist music in a blend reminiscent of Patrick Watson, Ennio Morricone, and Chet Baker.
A gifted pianist and multi-instrumentalist, Julius Rodriguez combines his jazz-trained chops with his passion for R&B, gospel, and hip-hop. He initially grabbed audiences’ attention touring with A$AP Rocky and working on projects with Kassa Overall, Meshell Ndegeocello, Brasstracks, and others. In 2022, he made his solo debut for Verve Records with Let Sound Tell All.
Born in 1998, Rodriguez grew up in White Plains, New York, in a family of Haitian descent. He started taking piano lessons at age three and was exposed to jazz by his father, who introduced him to artists like John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and Duke Ellington. He also gained valuable early performance experience at church, where he played drums, keyboards, and the organ. As a teenager, Rodriguez further honed his skills as a student at the Manhattan School of Music’s precollege division, as well as stints at the Berklee College of Music’s summer program and the YoungArts Foundation. After high school, he enrolled at The Juilliard School, where he studied piano with Jeremy Manasia. While still in college, he had the opportunity to play with luminaries like Roy Hargrove and Wynton Marsalis. Rodriguez also began broadening his taste, listening to artists like Stevie Wonder, the Beatles, and Solange, as well as working with singer/songwriters and playing with Isaiah Barr’s experimental Onyx Collective.
It was while playing with Barr that Rodriguez caught the attention of A$AP Rocky, and in 2018 he left Juilliard to tour with the rapper. More work followed, including gigs with Meshell Ndegeocello, Brasstracks, Carmen Lundy, Kassa Overall, Keyon Harrold, and others. In 2022, he brought all of his varied influences to bear on Let Sound Tell All, his stylistically expansive solo debut for Verve Records.
Whatever metaphors and superlatives one may think of, and even if it is a well used cliché: it is really very difficult to describe the music of the phenomenal Berlin artist who is calling herself KID BE KID. She really is a sensation. Listening to KID BE KID while she is simultanously singing and beatboxing, playing the piano and synths, is simply breathtaking. How does she do that? Where is this incredible power coming from? With such an somnambulistic certainty of style?
Speaking of which: It is by no means only just one style that she can be pinned down to. KID BE KID blurs genre boundaries playfully and fluidly. There are jazzy pianos, funky R&B grooves, clubby sci-fi synth pads and electronic patterns, and on top: her expressive soul vocals. Great pop with an exclamation mark. Think The Internet, James Blake, Alica Keys, Thom Yorke and Rhazel from the Roots. Except that with KID BE KID, everything visibly flows out of one person’s body all at once.
Her latest single “A Room To Dance” is as well her debut release for outernational label FUN IN THE CHURCH. “My body is too weak, too fast is my heartbeat, my soul is too weak and my whole breathing ain’t deep” she is singing, while the accompanying video is set in an abandoned quarry where we watch her looking for a free space and individual expression to a merciless marching bass drum in dance moves conducted by the choreographer Alexander Miller: At first she seems restless and obstructed in her rehearsed movements until she eventually is grooving her way into some kind of NFT hyperpop parallel world created by Berlin artist Markus S. Fiedler. KID BE KID frees herself in her imaginary mothership and together we all lift off.
Wow! Is this the future of soul? Future soul? Another well used genre term. With KID BE KID it could actually fit.
KNOWER are a searing hot music duo from Los Angeles spearheading a new musical movement. The LA duo represent the best of the Grammy Nominated drummer-producer Louis Cole and singer Genevieve Artadi. Their latest album KNOWER FOREVER [2023] was Bandcamp’s most purchased vinyl and has been celebrated as one of the most progressive cinematic future jazz records of 2023. Also known for their fourth album ‘Life’ [2016], KNOWER have been seen on tour with The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Thundercat and performances at leading electronic and jazz festivals internationally. This 2024 KNOWER tour their new album with a full band line up of hard-hitting instrumentalists from their LA musical family. Expect hot funk, cool chords, deep melodies and vocals to take audiences to an unforgettable live experience full of real moments.
With the summer not quite here yet, there’s no need to let rainy days get you down: Later. have the perfect antidote. With their idiosyncratic sound, they recreate relaxed afternoons by the lake under the buzzing shadows of shining green trees. The quartet from Paris first came into the public eye four years ago when astronaut Thomas Pesquet played their single “Highway 10” from the International Space Station (ISS). Since then, the band have really been flying high: Their EP, “The Daydream” (2020), was a hit with the French press and highlighted the band’s familiar interplay and stylistic level. Last year, their debut album, “Walking On The Line” (2023), was released, prompting more than a few media personalities to draw comparisons with Daft Punk. Sounds crazy? It’s not! This year’s new single, “Cold Touch”, also realises a synth-driven funk sound with more than just a French touch. Anyone who wants to get their own impression of the qualities of these four thoroughbred musicians will have the opportunity in September.
Stress Killer‘s sound, despite its sonic shelving so close to the nightclub sounds, it is made using traditional jazz instrumentation. Embracing ideas and desires to make people dance by approaching jazz as club music with its nods to the techno pioneers of Detroit, the deep house of Chicago and drawing from Leon’s previous collaborations with Laurent Garnier. The saxophone remains the ringleader and master of ceremonies across the album, fusing jazz codes with detailed electronic etiquette, notes and ideas speak to the bodies of dancers and club goers, making you want to move.
Makaya has been called “one of the hardest drummers on the live music circuit” (revivalist.okayplayer.com). He has worked with an array of world class musicians including Archie Shepp, Yusef Lateef, Bernie Worrell, Soulive, Charles Neville, Marcus Strickland, Lionel Louke, and Bobby Broom.
Makaya has recorded extensively across genres. His debut record as a leader, ‘Split Decision’ (Chicago Sessions, 2012) was well received getting critical acclaim from the Chicago Tribune, Jazz Weekly, All about Jazz and reaching #6 for Blaze Radios top #25 in 2012. This record, reached the first round Grammy consideration, along with his 13 piece all-star band’s featured performance at Pritzker Pavillion at Millennium Park, which quickly established Makaya as one of the leading voices on the Chicago music scene. His 2015 release, ‘In the Moment’ (International Anthem Records), forges new routes in creative music, incorporating electronic elements and improvised music, includes award-winning artists Jeff Parker (Tortoise), Marquis Hill (2014 Monk competition winner) and D’Sean Jones (Underground Resistance). Makaya is a true improviser who, with each performance, creates a new live music experience.
Born in Paris in 1983 to drummer Stephen McCraven and Hungarian folk singer Agnes Zsigmondi, Makaya’s wide ranging influences include hip hop and funk, which inform his unique and exciting approach to music. Unquestionably respected as a jazz artist, Makaya also “sees no need to suppress his hip hop chops or rock spirit in an effort to fit in and be dubbed a jazz drummer” (AllAboutJazz.com). With this new band Makaya has opened for acclaimed artists such as Kamasi Washington, Wu-Tang Clan, 50 Cent, Rhazel, Digable Planets, The Pharcyde, Mixmaster Mike, and the Wailers to name a few.
Makaya is also an educator who endorses Vic Firth Sticks. His background, experience, and vision makes for a dynamic instrumentalist whose talent is undeniable to the listener.
Guiliana’s forward-leaping BEAT MUSIC is more than a band – it’s a community. Over the last decade the drummer has gathered around him a family of like-minded artists who share a passion for the limitless possibilities of electronic music combined with an in-the-moment creativity rooted in jazz improvisation. On April 12, Motéma Music will release Guiliana’s third plunge into that vast musical ocean, the emphatically titled BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC! (available now for pre-order). The in-your-face exclamation of that title is no accident; Guiliana’s third recording with his BEAT MUSIC cohort is a bold and vigorous exploration of window-rattling grooves, cinematic imagery, ecstatic atmospheres and a captivating tapestry of textures and voices.
Mark Lettieri is a five-time GRAMMY Award-winning guitarist, composer, producer, and instructor based in Fort Worth, TX. He creates acclaimed guitar-based instrumental music, and is a member of leading instrumental bands Snarky Puppy and The Fearless Flyers. As a session musician proficient in a multitude of styles, he has recorded and performed in virtually every genre of popular music with both independent and major-label artists.
After two albums with his band Square One, Matthis is preparing a third installment as a tribute to the New Orleans musician Dr. John. For this new project, he collaborates with the English singer Hugh Coltman. As both are great admirers of the Louisiana pianist/singer, they decide to explore Dr. John’s sixties period. The result is a sultry blend of New Orleans folklore, the electric ambiance of the band, and Hugh’s smooth vocals.
Mica Millar released her debut album ‘Heaven Knows’ in 2022 to critical acclaim winning Jazz FM’s prestigious ‘Soul Act of The Year 2022’ award alongside a nomination for ‘Breakthrough Act of The Year’ and becoming a member of The Recording Academy (class of 2023) making her eligible for Grammy Award consideration for future releases.
Mica’s 2nd album is due for release in 2025, with a host of high profile collaborators set to contribute.
Mastered at the iconic Abbey Road Studios, who cited Heaven Knows as one of their ‘favorite projects of 2021’ and ‘favorite albums of 2022’, the debut is self-written, arranged and produced, exploring themes of human nature, spirituality, love, oppression, inequality and empowerment, drawing inspiration from a plethora of vintage soundscapes, most notably, soul, blues, gospel and jazz.
Mica’s distinct vision is one that has quickly earned her renowned credibility within the industry and it’s her creativity, drive and attention to detail that has made ‘Heaven Knows’ the album it is – a timeless collection of modern soul/jazz showcasing a confident new artist, quickly establishing herself as a new and unique voice in British music.
Born and raised in L.A., but a diehard New Yorker for the past five years (drawn by “the music, art and energy, its motivating factor”), 28-year-old Michael Mayo finished work on his debut solo album Bones, on the Artistry Music/Mack Avenue Music Group, just before COVID hit. The tracks were cut live with his band — keyboardist Andrew Freedman, bassist Nick Campbell and drummer Robin Baytas, all of whom he’s played with since high school or college — at Figure8 Recordings in Brooklyn. Eli Wolf, a veteran Grammy®-winning producer of albums by Al Green, Norah Jones and The Roots, did the honors behind the board. “Being from L.A., I really know how to chill, but coming to New York has really kicked me into gear,” says Mayo.
Bones is Mayo’s first full-length album under his own name after studying at the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music and the Thelonious Monk Institute — now named after Herbie Hancock, who mentored Mayo, helping him discover the link between sound and technology through a looper pedal, and showcased him as a featured vocalist on a tour of South America in 2018.
Moonchild is a combination of three multi instrumentalists – Amber Navran, Andris Mattson , and Max Bryk. The resulting union yields an ever-evolving fusion of alternative R&B, jazz, and neo-soul. They all participate equally in writing, producing, tracking, and mixing their records, keeping the spirit of collaboration alive as they grow and transform as one.
“Our chemistry as writers was pretty instantaneous from the start,” explains Andris. “The first tune we came up with, we all sat on a piano bench together and wrote as a unit. Nowadays, each of us has our own studio setup and are constantly making beats and writing songs on our own. We’ll often send each other emails of beats we made and then get together to expand them into full songs. We have so much trust in each other during the writing process.”
Mother’s Cake is an Austrian band playing a mix of funk, hardrock and progressive/psychedelic music. It was formed by Yves Krismer (guitar, vocals), Benedikt Trenkwalder (bass) and Jan Haußels (drums) in 2008. Their distinctive sound is influenced by diverse bands such as The Mars Volta, Porcupine Tree, RHCP and Bootsy Collins among others.
The band came in third place out of roughly 1000 bands at ILA 2010 and won the biggest band contest in Austria – Local Heroes, where the single musicians were voted best vocalist, best bassist and best drummer out of participating bands.
Born in 1943 in western Ethiopia, Mulatu Astatke first trained at the Trinity College of Music in London, and then at the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston, where he was the first African student. He returned to Addis Ababa in 1969, bringing with him all he had learned and heard, to create a new style by blending jazz, Latin music, and traditional Ethiopian music: Ethio-Jazz.
Throughout his long and fruitful career, Astatke has been a vibraphonist, percussionist, composer, arranger, teacher, and director. After the “golden age of the 1970s” in Ethiopia, Astatke’s music regained popularity in 1998 with the launch of the Ethiopiques series, and later in 2005, with seven of his tracks featured in Jim Jarmusch’s film Broken Flowers.
Familiar yet strange, simple yet complex, modern yet traditional, elegant yet enveloping, African yet Western, hypnotic yet evocative, his music is a blend of styles and cultures. Ultimately, it is a unique sound marked by a personal imprint that makes it easily recognizable but difficult to imitate.
Nate Smith views Kinfolk as a trilogy that traces his evolution as a musician. The first album explored his childhood in Chesapeake, Virginia, and the music he absorbed at home. Kinfolk 2 continues this narrative, offering an impressionistic portrait of his teenage years, when he decided to become a musician. During this time, he listened to a lot of music associated with the Black Rock Coalition, such as Living Colour, Fishbone, and 24-7 Spyz, as well as other pioneering bands like Bad Brains, King’s X, Prince, and Sting. Nate Smith also listened to a lot of hip-hop and the emerging neo-soul that flourished in the 1990s.
To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of his critically acclaimed album
‘The Good Fight’, Oddisee and his live band Good Compny is hitting the road for a special anniversary tour! Join him as he brings his soulful beats and thought-provoking lyrics to a city near you. This tour is a testament to the power of music to bring people together and inspire a positive change. Don’t miss your chance to experience the emotional intensity and sonic beauty of Oddisee’s live show. Tickets on sale now! #Oddisee #TheGoodFight
The rapper, singer, and producer will be performing the album in its entirety, as well as other fan-favorite tracks, on a series of dates across Europe.
The tour is a unique opportunity for fans to re-experience the album’s poignant lyrics and jazz-infused hip-hop production in a live setting, with Oddisee’s powerful vocals and storytelling taking center stage.
Le jazz est affaire de rencontre, certes.
Mais il est surtout question de surprise, de saisissement, de jeu et de poésie. Le quintet « Poetic Ways » est un essai, transformé lors d’un premier concert impromptu et improvisé en direct sur France Musique en novembre 2021 pour le bicentenaire du Conservatoire Pierre Barbizet de Marseille.
Au départ, le simple pari d’une surprise, d’une prévision : que les voix de Celia Kameni, Anne Paceo, Raphaël Imbert, Pierre-François Blanchard, Pierre Fenichel, fonctionnent pour une nouvelle aventure sonore, esthétique et poétique! Un pari réussi par la magie de l’instant gravé sur les ondes, par les retours d’auditeurs surpris ici d’entendre Fauré, Ferré, Baudelaire, Verlaine, Nina Simone, dans un même écho empli de groove et d’émotions.
Le pari ne demandait qu’à être tenté à nouveau ! En novembre dernier, c’est la capitale des Gaules qui était invité à Marseille par la présence de Celia Kameni. Et puis ce 26 juillet, aux Nuits de Fourvière, ce fut un peu… le match retour !
Une nouvelle création, une nouvelle surprise, à ne pas manquer.
Trois ans après la sortie de l’acclamé Sun Monkey Voltage et des tournées ahurissantes à l’international le trio le plus pop et le plus cool du jazz français est de retour en grandes pompes pour fêter ses 15 ans d’existence avec un nouvel album studio intitulé 88888888. Symbole de l’infini et meilleur chiffre selon le Feng Shui, le 8 est un véritable porte bonheur, synonyme de longévité et prospérité. Comme un clin d’oeil pour ce 8ème disque aussi brillant et maîtrisé que décontracté et jubilatoire qui sera peut-être enfin celui de la reconnaissance du pays d’origine de RP3, et, pour sûr, celui de l’abondance, de la générosité et des bonnes vibrations.
Scary Goldings, c’est avant tout la joie de se réunir autour d’une vision du funk bien ancrée dans le sillage de la soul et du rythm and blues des années 1960, un goût du jeu collectif qui sonne comme un retour aux fondamentaux. Imaginé en 2018 par le guitariste Ryan Lerman et le claviériste Jack Conte (âmes du groupe Scary Pockets) avec l’organiste Larry Goldings, ce supergroupe fédère de nouveaux musiciens au fil des années et des albums. Paru l’an passé, le bien nommé Scary Goldings IV réunit le légendaire guitariste John Scofield, le bassiste MonoNeon et Louis Cole à la batterie. Du beau monde sur la scène de la Grande Halle pour ce premier concert européen de Scary Goldings, un moment de haute volée à la fois incandescent et détendu, entre complicité amicale et technicité bluffante. Attention, penser à bien s’hydrater.
Jack Conte – co founder of Patreon and Pomplamoose – teams up with his high school budy Ryan Lerman, guitarist and musical director for the likes of Michael Bublé, John Legend, and Ben Folds among others, to bring you pockets that are scary. Four years after their first session, Scary Pockets have released over 200 videos watched over 200 million times on Youtube. Collaborating with a bunch of amazing artists, from Katy Perry to Cory Henry, but also Bruno Major, Darren Criss, Larry Goldings and so on.
Sophye Soliveau is a singer, harpist, and choir director. Her love for Afro-American music, ranging from R&B to soul and gospel, took root in her childhood, and she honed her skills through classical training. From the reinterpretation that fuels her improvisations, the quest for healing, and the learning of freedom, arises INITIATION, her debut album. It is a fervent celebration of voluptuous R&B. INITIATION is characterized by its stripped-down orchestration. Sophye’s vocal cords and her harp come together, rising against a backdrop of airy choirs and a bass-drum rhythm with a precious and subtle groove, enhancing an original repertoire with deeply soulful inspirations.
Widely acknowledged as one of the world’s most talented trumpeters, Takuya Kuroda is at the forefront of genre-bending jazz music.Signed to the consequential Blue Note Records, the forward-thinking musician has developed a unique blend of soulful jazz, funk, post-bop and hip-hop. His sixth album, ‘Fly Moon Die Soon’, received critical acclaim and he described the album as being a focus on “the greatness of nature and the beautiful obsceneness of humanity.’
Theon Cross is an award-winning tuba player and composer. He is a key component of London’s thriving jazz scene and his unique sound has been described as ‘innovative’ and hailed for ‘reinventing the tuba’. His debut EP ‘Aspirations’ brought him international attention and garnered him a Jazz FM nomination for best Jazz Newcomer in 2016. In 2019 he released his debut album ‘Fyah’ which was met with critical acclaim worldwide charting at no. 1 on the UK official Jazz & Blues charts, no.23 on the US Jazz Billboard and garnered high praise from major publications such as Rolling Stone Magazine, Pitchfork, The New York Times, The Guardian and NPR leading him to tour extensively throughout Europe, North America and South America.
Born and raised in London, Cross started his musical journey at the age of 8 where he began instrumental lessons in primary school on the tenor horn. In his mid-teens he switched to the tuba and attended several music workshops in London including the Kinetika Bloco, a Brazillian-Styled Carnival group and the Tomorrow’s Warriors lead by Gary Crosby OBE. Within these workshops Cross was able to build up his masterful stamina and technique whilst also learning how to improvise and be trained in various styles of music. He went on to study Jazz and classical music at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music & Drama and post graduating has worked with an array of established artists including Jon Batiste, Emile Sande, Kano, Makaya McCraven, Courtney Pine and is a significant core member of the mercury nominated group Sons of Kemet.
London based drummer, composer and producer Tom Skinner has been a vital and central figure in the burgeoning underground music scene in London throughout the last 20 years. Tom is a leading member of The Smile with Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood. Their debut album A Light For Attracting Attention was released to critical acclaim in June 2022 and they have been touring the record across UK, Europe and US throughout the year. 2022 also saw Tom release the first album under his name Voices of Bishara. Tom composed and recorded the 6 pieces for saxophone, percussion, bass, cello and flute live in the same room and then manipulated the recordings, chopping and looping sections to breathe new life into the music. The result is a tight, hypnotic and unique sound, Voices of Bishara is sculpted around timeless and deeply emotional music that contains masses of movement and exceptional harmonic depth and texture. In 2012, Tom released his self-titled solo record under the alias Hello Skinny to critical acclaim, MOJO Magazine describing it as “…existing in that fertile zone where jazz, dub, techno and avant-pop deliquesce into an exhilarating free-for-all.” The second Hello Skinny album Watermelon Sun, released on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood label in 2017, featured a collaboration with acclaimed veteran New York composer and trombonist Peter Zummo. Tom is also an original member of award winning band Sons Of Kemet alongside band-leader and frequent collaborator Shabaka Hutchings. Their third album Your Queen Is A Reptile [Impulse! 2018] garnered worldwide critical acclaim including a Mercury Prize 2018 nomination. Their latest album Black To The Future [Impulse! 2021] was met with rave reviews, NME giving it 5 stars, claiming the album to be the band at their “most dynamic and urgent”. Throughout his career, Tom has performed and recorded with notable musicians such as Jonny Greenwood, Grace Jones, Jarvis Cocker, Kano, Matthew Herbert, Mulatu Astatke, Floating Points, The Invisible, Zero 7 and many more.