BOBBY BROOM

Harlem born, New York City raised, Bobby Broom has been heralded as “one of the most musical guitarists of our time” by jazz historian and author, Ted Gioia. Playing Carnegie Hall with Sonny Rollins and Donald Byrd at age 16, Broom recorded his debut as a leader, “Clean Sweep,” for GRP Records at age 20. He’s played and /or recorded with Kenny Burrell, Hugh Masakela, Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Stanley Turrentine, Dave Grusin, Charles Earland, Miles Davis, Kenny Garrett and Dr. John, among others. Broom has been recognized as one of the top guitarists by Down Beat magazine’s annual Reader’s Poll in 2015 & 2020, as well as their Critics Poll for four years, from 2012-2014 and again in 2017. His latest quartet recording, “Keyed Up,” released in late 2022, is an homage to some of the great pianist/composers in jazz.

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MIMI FOX ~ WES AT 100

Presented by The Indianapolis Jazz Foundation and in celebration of Wes Montgomery’s 100th birthday

There is no better way to celebrate great jazz than with the Indianapolis Jazz Collective featuring Rob Dixon, Steve Allee, Greg Artry + Nick Tucker with featured guest artist guitarist Mimi Fox. Join The Jazz Kitchen and these supreme, creative musicians for a night that explores what jazz has to offer through standards, jams and improvisation.

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CAROL RIDDICK & GERALD VEASLEY

The groundbreaking collaboration between Gerald Veasley and Carol Riddick pairs two legends of jazz and soul music to celebrate an iconic artist. The act, consisting of vocals and three instrumentalists, has performed in many festivals, jazz clubs and churches to a sold-out crowds pays homage to “The High Priestess of Soul”, singer, song writer and activist, Nina Simone.

Simone was one of the most extraordinary artists of the twentieth century; an icon of American music. She was the consummate musical storyteller, a griot as she would come to learn, who used her remarkable talent to create a legacy of liberation, empowerment, passion, and love through a magnificent body of works. She earned the moniker “High Priestess of Soul” for she could weave a spell so seductive and hypnotic that the listener lost track of time and space as they became absorbed in the moment.

All Shows ~ SOLD OUT!

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ALVIN BRENDAN, BEN MILLMAN & TRENT OTTER

NO RESERVATION REQUIRED – Walk-in only.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Ryo Kawasaki was born February 25, 1947 in Kōenji, Tokyo during Japan’s recovery in the early post World War II period. His mother encouraged him to take piano and ballet lessons, and he took voice lessons and solfege at age four and violin lessons at five, and he was reading music before elementary school. As a grade scholar, he began a lifelong fascination with astronomy and electronics. When he was 10, he bought a ukulele and at 14 he got his first acoustic guitar. The album Midnight Blue by Kenny Burrell and Stanley Turrentine inspired him to study jazz.

In high school, he began hanging out at coffee-houses that featured live music, formed a jazz ensemble and built an electronic organ that served as a primitive synthesizer. By the time he was 16, his band was playing professionally in cabarets and strip joints. Although he continued to play music regularly, he attended Nippon University, majored in physics and earned his Bachelor of Science Degree. He also did some teaching and contest judging at the Yamaha musical instrument manufacturer’s jazz school. Additionally, he worked as a sound engineer for Japanese Victor Records and BGM/TBS Music, where he learned mixing and editing.

He recorded his first solo album for Polydor Records when he was 22. And was voted the No. 3 jazz guitarist in a Japanese jazz poll. He spent most of the next three years working as a studio musician on everything from advertising jingles to pop songs including countless radio and TV appearances. He recorded his second album for Toshiba when he was 24. He played with B.B. King at a blues festival and also met George Benson and they jammed for five hours at Kawasaki’s house.

Moving to New York City in 1973 he was offered an immediate gig with Joe Lee Wilson playing at the Lincoln Center as part of the Newport Jazz Festival. Soon Ryo was jamming regularly as part of the loft scene and was invited to play with Bobbi Humphrey. A few months later Gil Evans invited him to join The Gil Evans Orchestra which was then working on a jazz recording, The Gil Evans Orchestra Plays the Music of Jimi Hendrix. He would go on to record on Evan’s There Comes a Time.  He  became the guitarist in the Chico Hamilton Band, made his debut U.S. album, Juice, in 1976 for RCA and was one of the first Japanese jazz artists to sign with a major label in the States.

He explored Music of India, recorded with Dave Liebman and toured European jazz festivals with Joanne Brackeen as a piano/guitar duo and they recorded a pair of albums. In the mid-1980s, Kawasaki drifted out of performing music in favor of writing music software for computers. He also produced several techno dance singles, formed his own record company called Satellites Records, and later returned to jazz-fusion in 1991.

He continued to release albums up to 2017 and had two retrospective Ep’s released spanning years of 1976~1980 and 1979~1983. Guitarist and keyboardist Ryo Kawasaki transitioned on April 13, 2020 in Tallinn, Estonia at the age of 73.

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