Results for "Contemporary Jazz Fusion"

Apulia Art Ensemble

The Apulia Art Ensemble (AAE) was founded in Puglia in 2024 from an idea shared by Nicolò Marziale and M° Livio Minafra, with the aim of creating a permanent workshop dedicated to producing original music, nurturing young musicians and searching for a new contemporary musical language rooted in Mediterranean culture.

The ensemble brings together young musicians from the Conservatories of Bari, Monopoli and Matera, selected for their technical quality, interpretive sensitivity and creative ability. The group brings into dialogue contemporary jazz, improvisation, academic composition, Apulian and Mediterranean traditions, Balkan and rock influences, giving rise to an original musical research with a strong identity of its own.

Bradley Leighton

Born: April 29, 1961

Bradley Leighton brings a distinctive voice to contemporary jazz flute, combining the energy of big-band swing with the deep grooves of funk, soul, and R&B. His musical style was shaped by the high-powered bands of Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, and Maynard Ferguson, along with the infectious rhythms of Tower of Power, Earth, Wind & Fire, and the Brecker Brothers. The result is a bold, expressive sound filled with fire, finesse, and a rhythmic intensity not often associated with the flute.

A longtime Yamaha Performing Artist, Bradley has performed throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe as both a bandleader and sideman. His career has included festival appearances, performances alongside acclaimed jazz artists, and decades of work as a recording artist, educator, and clinician.

Tocaia Trio

Born: August 30, 2016

Tocaia Trio is an instrumental trio from Porto Alegre, southern Brazil, featuring Pedro Saul (Rhodes and synthesizers), Diego Fagundes (six-string bass) and Pablo de la Rocha (drums). Their self-titled debut features nine original compositions moving between contemporary jazz, post-bop and fusion, with influences from rock and Brazilian music. Built around collective interplay and improvisation, the album was recorded live in the studio over three days to preserve the trio’s dynamics and spontaneity.

Sorin Zlat

Born: May 7, 1990

Sorin Zlat (Piano)

Sorin Zlat is an internationally acclaimed jazz pianist, composer, Yamaha Artist, and professor of jazz piano at the National University of Music Bucharest. Described by the EFG London Jazz Festival and NCPA Mumbai as “one of the leading jazz musicians of his generation,” and praised by London Jazz News as a “virtuoso pianist,” Sorin has established himself as one of the distinctive voices of contemporary European jazz. With more than 30 national and international awards, his career brings together virtuosity, expressive improvisation and a deeply personal compositional language.

Sebastian Mueses

Born: April 20, 1998

Sebastián Mueses Selig (Santo Domingo, 1998) is a double bassist and electric bassist with a continuous career in the Dominican professional jazz scene since 2018. Trained at the National Conservatory of Music and the International School of Contemporary Music of Pedro Henriquez Ureña University (UNPHU) in Santo Domingo and with advanced studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg (Germany), he combines the rigor of acoustic jazz with the flexibility required by popular and commercial formats.

His calling card is the volume and variety of his work as an accompanist. He has been the trusted bassist for directors and soloists on the Dominican circuit—Oscar Micheli, Eddy Alba, Carlos Mota, Carlos Marcelo, Jordi Masalles, —and the musician called upon to support international artists visiting the country, from Berklee graduates to instrumentalists based in Boston, New York, and San Juan. This role demands a specific and difficult skill: preparing other artists' repertoire in a short time and sustaining it live without extensive rehearsal.

Jay Matharu

Jay Matharu is a British-born guitarist, composer, and educator based in Uppsala, Sweden. Having toured widely across Europe, he has built a reputation as a versatile musician with an expansive sound. His music is an eclectic fusion drawing from jazz, progressive rock, and Indian classical music, amongst a wide array of influences.

As both a performer and composer, Matharu’s work is defined by intricate motivic development and a seamless integration of diverse tonalities. He treats each piece as an unfolding journey, prioritising improvisational exploration, where technique always serves the emotional narrative. This approach results in a deeply expressive sound defined by melodic storytelling, rhythmic complexity, and emotional depth.

Onion

Active since: 2017

Onion is a jazz fusion quintet that mixes elements of jazz, funk, rock, and hip-hop to
create a unique sound and exhilarating musical experience. Onion layers a distinct
melodic blend of electric guitar, saxophone, and vocals upon a rock solid foundation of
drums, bass, and keys. The band writes original music rooted in grooves and complex
rhythms that make the mind (and body) want to dance.
Onion's sound is inspired by classic fusion groups like Return to Forever and
contemporary jazz artists like Nate Smith, Nubya Garcia, and Michael Mayo. Onion
formed in Portland, Oregon in 2018 and has since performed at various music venues,
private events, and festivals throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Danny Kerner

Danny Kerner is a guitarist and composer who is currently based in Austin, TX. Over the last 14+ years, he has played with a variety of bands such as The Sahara Quartet, Indestructible Now, Cazayoux, The Sidepiece Collective, Zoumountchi, The Sahara Allstars, and artists including Robert Plant's piano player/collaborator John Baggott, free-jazz trumpeter Rob Mazurek, Chicago blues stars Little Ed, Smilin' Bobby, and Mary Lane, jam-band godfather Colonel Bruce Hampton, and The Allman Brothers Band's late, great drummer Butch Trucks.

Danny's own band, The Danny Kerner Group, plays his original music, which combines elements of rock and jazz with Latin, classical, urban, and pastoral undertones (it is best to hear the music without any preconceived ideas of what to expect).

Big Space

Active since: 2013

Canadian trio Big Space blends modern jazz and instrumental rock, combining progressive compositions with collective improvisation. Their upcoming album The Pendulum Effect, out June 5 2026, moves between high-energy fusion, lyrical ballads, and more atmospheric passages. 

The band's 2021 debut In Relation To won ECMA Jazz Recording of the Year, recognizing the best jazz album in Atlantic Canada, and earned praise from both indie rock and jazz media in Canada and abroad for its alternative-jazz crossover approach.

Formed in 2013, Big Space features guitarist Grant King, drummer Ashley Chalmers and bassist Ian Murphy. Members bring diverse backgrounds to the project, blending formal jazz training with years of experience in independent and alternative music communities. After more than a decade playing together, the band has developed its own shared musical vocabulary, influenced by forward-thinking jazz fusion artists and branching out into broader cross-genre sounds. 

Sylvie Natsume