Apr

21

Takuya Kuroda Takuya Kuroda

with Melanie Charles

Fri April 21st, 2023

7:30PM

Main Space

Minimum Age: 16+

Doors Open: 6:30PM

Show Time: 7:30PM

Event Ticket: $20

Day of Show: $25

Ticketing Policy

Proof of vax is NOT required for this event

the artists the artists

Takuya Kuroda

A highly-respected trumpeter born in Kobe, Japan, Takuya is a forward-thinking musician that has developed a unique hybrid sound, blending soulful jazz, funk, post-bop, fusion and hip hop music.

After following the footsteps of his trombonist brother playing in big bands, he relocated to New York to study jazz & contemporary music at The New School in Union Square; a course he graduated from in the mid-noughties. It was here that Takuya met vocalist José James, with whom he worked on the ‘Blackmagic’ and ‘No Beginning No End’ projects.

Following graduation, Takuya established himself further in the NYC jazz scene, performing with the likes of Akoya Afrobeat and in recent years with DJ Premier’s BADDER band (also including acclaimed bass player,Brady Watt). Premier said “The BADDER Band project was put together by my manager, and an agent I’ve known since the beginning of my Gang Starr career. He said, ‘What if you put a band together that revolved around a trumpet player from Japan named Takuya Kuroda? He’s got a hip-hop perspective and respect in the jazz field…”

Takuya Kuroda is already incredibly prolific, releasing five albums in the past decade and fortifying a solid reputation in the global jazz scene. 2011 saw the release of Takuya’s independently-produced debut album, ‘Edge’, followed by ‘Bitter and High’ the following year and ‘Six Aces’ on P-Vine in 2013. Takuya was signed to the legendary Blue Note Records in 2014 for his album ‘Rising Son’, as well as appearing on their 2019 cover versions project, ‘Blue Note Voyage’. He released his 5th album ‘Zigzagger’ on Concord in 2016, which also featured Antibalas on a reimagining of the Donald Byrd classic ‘Think Twice’.

Late Summer 2020, Takuya Kuroda returns with his sixth album ‘Fly Moon Die Soon’.
In his words, “this album is about the irony between the greatness of nature and the beautiful obsceneness of humanity. Melodies and grooves fly back and forth from being spiritual to being vulgar.”

Melanie Charles

Melanie Charles is a Brooklyn-born singer-songwriter, actress, and flutist of Haitian descent with creative fluidity spanning jazz, soul, experimental, and Haitian roots music. The Village Voice has described Charles’ myriad talents as “Collaging her musical DNA into jazz-studded multi-instrumentalism and dipping a toe into the experimental […] There’s an uncanny cohesion to Charles’ music, her wandering threads braided into something strong as rope.” She is a graduate of The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music and has worked with Jazz Giants; Herlin Riley, Ellis Marsalis, Pedrito Gonzales, ELEW, hip-hop legend Jean Grae, SZA, and Jussie Smollet of Fox’s EMPIRE, with appearances on Good Morning America and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. In April 2017, Charles collaborated with the Gorillaz on their latest album, “Humanz.” Charles has strong ties to her Haitian culture, and has been acknowledged by author Ralph Boncy and the Haitian Jazz Foundation as one of the most important women in Haitian music.
With all of these accolades under her belt, Charles, under the moniker D’flower, now embarks on a solo experience using Roland SPs, loop pedals, and the flute to create a Chaka Khan meets Badu-esque “sonic collage” fusing RnB, jazz, samples and Haitian folk songs. This project aims to blur the lines between social classes, cultures, genders, genres, and theories to create a world where opposing elements can co-exist.

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