ARTIST PROFILES

Buffalo’s own Reign of Kindo (a.k.a. Kindo) is now headquartered in New York City. Kindo formed in 2006 and has released its work independently, with the help of the subscription service Patreon.The band’s supporters are rewarded with new tracks each month. The core of the group consists of the original five members with new additions joining over the years. Joseph Secchiaroli (vocals & guitar), Kelly Sciandra (piano & trumpet), Michael Carroll (guitar & percussion), Jeffre

Trumpeter/producer Josef Leimberg is one of those musicians who’s very well known to other players but not to casual music fans. He has worked with Snoop Dogg, producing R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece and Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss as well as supporting him on tour, and Kendrick Lamar. In 2014, he teamed up with Terrace Martin to form LoveDragon, a production duo best known for its work on Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-winning album, To Pimp a Butterfly. Besides productio

Manchester’s Matthew Halsall is a community-minded musician.  Not content to play, produce, DJ, and compose, the trumpet player also founded Gondwana Records in 2008 to promote local talent. Releasing his debut, Sending My Love, on Gondwana in 2008, he has continued to put out albums under his own name and with the Gondwana Orchestra since.  His latest project with the legendary singer Dwight Trible, entitled Inspirations, was released in 2017. The Guardian hailed the project

It isn’t often that one comes across a jazz bandleader who is playing the tuba.  Another fixture on the smoking hot London jazz scene, Cross brings the funk to traditional New Orleans jazz, with definite flourishes of hard bop as well. The musician/composer has earned many plaudits since he self-released his debut EP, Aspirations in 2015. The Guardian noted, "Theon Cross crucially embraces the bass and rhythm role with exuberant inventiveness." Aspirations is a five-track rec

With a moniker like Tenderlonious, you’re sure to raise some eyebrows. The London saxophonist, composer, producer, and bandleader connects his exploration of jazz with genres like electronica, hip-hop, and afrobeat to create a compelling soundscape. The frontman for Ruby Rushton, Ed Cawthorne as he is also known, is also co-founder of the indie collective, 22a Music. He recorded three albums with Ruby Rushton, Two For Joy in 2015 and Trudi's Songbook: Volumes One and Two in 2

A growing phenomenon known as the “sisterhood of the saxophone” has brought attention to a new generation of female sax players. And now, a new star is emerging from the epicenter of a rebirth of the cool, the revitalized jazz scene flourishing in the UK, bandleader and composer Nubya Garcia. Growing up in a musical family, her first instrument was a violin. She also played the recorder, a woodwind many of us remember from childhood.  Garcia also tried the clarinet and the pi

New grooves are rippling through the UK jazz scene. Jonny Mansfield, based in London, works his magic with the vibraphone, drums, and other percussion instruments while leading a quintet playing contemporary, funky jazz. At just 21 years-old, Mansfield already has already received recognition for his playing. He received the Tebbutt Exhibition Award when graduating from the renowned Royal Academy of Music as well as the 2018 Kenny Wheeler Jazz Prize. The son of two musicians

Melissa James brings a soulful touch to her work as a jazz singer. A native of London, she was surrounded by the Caribbean rhythms on the records her West Indian father played throughout her childhood. This early exposure to calypso, soca, and reggae mingled with the Christian hymns he would sing. Her sisters were the ones that have the gift of soul. Marvin Gaye, Roberta Flack, Percy Sledge and Anita Baker were in the rotation as the girls did their chores. In absorbing th

A jazz trio that plays modern, ambient pop? Doesn't seem plausible, but it's one way of describing the Neil Cowley Trio. Still, that description is incomplete. Cowley's songs are laden with both pop hooks and arching themes. Too accessible to be avant-garde yet complex enough for deeper consideration. ​ London native Cowley is a classically trained pianist, performing for the first time at age 10. In his teens he moved to keyboards, playing with soul and funk acts like the

Canadian sextet Brasstronaut was formed in 2007 by Edo Van Breemen and Bryan Davies in Vancouver. By 2009 the group had grown to the six-piece ensemble it is today, enjoying a residency at the Banff Centre. The group has toured extensively throughout North America and Europe, as well as far-flung locales like Istanbul. The group's first release was a four-track EP called Old World Lies, in 2008 on the netlabel Digital Kunstrasen. Moving to Unfamiliar Records, they followed u

South London born and bred, Jamie Issac is among a new breed of crooners in the UK. Melding jazz beats with ambient soul, he crafts songs with tuneful electronics, a bit of R&B, and smooth vocals. A classically trained vocalist and former choirboy, he honed his craft until he got a deal with Marathon Artists, a London-based indie label. In 2013, he unleashed I Will Be Cold Soon, the first of two EPs. Blue Break followed in 2014. Joining the many indie artists who have taken