Today’s jazz scene is dominated by Kiyoshi Kitagawa, a composer and bassist. Kiyoshi was born in Osaka in Japan in 1958. He began playing guitar when he was 14. At the age of 19, he switched to an acoustic basse. Kiyoshi started his career playing in various clubs in Kansai, Japan. He quickly rose to … Read more
Toni is a guitarist, composer/arranger and bandleader. He also teaches. Toni’s music has a lot of African-centric elements. Perhaps because he was a soccer player with African exchange students in his community, and borrowed records from their vast collections after each game. Oscar Salas is the master percussionist behind all of his musical collaborations. His … Read more
A guitar-sax/flute jazz duo influenced both by Roland Kirk, AACM and American jazz from CDBaby
Ellen Kirkwood, born in Port Macquarie, Australia in 1985, is a trumpeter and composer, as well as a bandleader, teacher, and musician based out of Sydney. She earned a Bachelor of Music at Sydney Conservatorium, where she majored in Jazz Performance under the guidance of many Australian Jazz legends, including Warwick Alder and Judy Bailey. … Read more
Ryan Kisor, one of the Young Lions, was 17 years old when he won Thelonious Monk Institute for Jazz’s first trumpet contest. His father had taught him trumpet, and he played in a local band at the age of ten. He began studying classical music two year later. Kisor was 14 when he discovered jazz. … Read more
He was born in Landeck, Tyrol and discovered his passion for music when he was 18. He was an autodidact and a wanderer between styles. He studied jazz guitar at University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, under Harry Pepl. His education was completed with the help of Joe Pass, Bill Frisell and Wolfgang Muthspiel. … Read more
kIRK is a Polish collective that includes Pawel Bartnik (electronic instrument), Olgierd Dkalski (trumpet), and Filip Kalinowski, (turntables). They clearly love the art of mixing different components. Their PR blurb talks about Mary Anne Hobbs, techno, and Si Begg, but I believe this is actually (even if it wasn’t known) a more recent version 23 … Read more
Andy Kirk, a Terrence Holder Orchestra member, took control of the orchestra in 1928. He renamed it Andy Kirk and his Dark Clouds Of Joy, and then Andy Kirk with his Twelve Clouds Of Joy. The band became one of the most well-known and successful bands in the territory, with a career that lasted over … Read more
As a sideman to some of the most prominent names in Scandinavian jazz today, and also working with international names like Diane Schuur and Eric Reed, Snorre Kirk has become a fully-fledged composer and artist. Blues Modernism was the highly successful debut album from Snorre. It won the JazzSpecial Award in Denmark for Album of … Read more
