Alex LoRe

Alex LoRe
Brooklyn, NY
Grant amount: $15,000

About the Artist

Since its inception in 2014, Kind Folk, comprised of trumpeter John Raymond, alto saxophonist Alex LoRe, bassist Noam Wiesenberg, and drummer Colin Stranahan, has endured against all odds to create poignant, thoughtful music.

After a series of impromptu sessions in a small Brooklyn apartment followed by a string of performances in New York, the group recorded and released their debut album “Why Not” on Fresh Sound Records in 2018. Being called “a new jazz supergroup,"" the album was praised by critics as “a selfless statement of the highest order” and they toured briefly in the Midwest and East Coast (Minneapolis, Eau Claire, Madison, Chicago, New York, Old Lyme). Following the release, the band underwent significant changes. Raymond relocated from New York to Bloomington, Indiana, and Stranahan moved temporarily to his hometown Denver, Colorado. With the ensemble spread across the USA, and the COVID-19 pandemic keeping performing opportunities at bay, the band’s future seemed bleak. But Kind Folk reconvened in New York for a week in June 2021 to record their new album, “Head Towards The Center,” which explores a reflection of themes born out of the changing tides the global pandemic brought: longing, joy, heartache, and hope. Beyond this, the album showcases the resilience of the group and their tenacity to continue creating despite their collective circumstances. More than ever, it’s clear that the whole of Kind Folk is greater than the sum of its parts.

Trumpet and flugelhornist John Raymond is “steering jazz in the right direction” (Downbeat). He has released six albums under his own name to critical acclaim, and has performed with musicians such as Billy Hart, Orrin Evans, Cory Wong, S. Carey and more. John is the Professor of Jazz Trumpet at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, recently wrote and released “The Jazz Trumpet Routine” method book, and is the creator and host of the podcast “The Trumpet Summit.""

Alex LoRe has been praised by The New York Times as a saxophonist who is “making the connections among about 70 years’ worth of contemplative, articulate and light–toned players.” He has released three albums of his own and is a sideman on over two dozen releases, including Marta Sanchez, Lucas Pino, Yuhan Su, Alex Goodman, and others. He recently published an adaptation of JS Bach’s “The Goldberg Variations” for saxophone and teaches at the New School College of Performing Arts in New York.

Bassist Noam Wiesenberg has worked with artists such as Antonio Sanchez, Melissa Aldana, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Lage Lund, Ben Wendel, Chano Dominguez, and Shai Maestro among others. He has also composed critically acclaimed arrangements for Camila Meza’s Nectar Orchestra, Ari Hoenig’s Nonet, and multiple arrangements for the Metropole Orkest, and he released his debut recording “Roads Diverge” in 2018.

Colin Stranahan has been one of the most in-demand drummers of his generation. After being a finalist in the 2012 Thelonious Monk Drum Competition, he has performed in recent years with the likes of Kurt Rosenwinkel, Terence Blanchard, Fred Hersch, Dr. Lonnie Smith,Jonathan Kreisberg, and many others. He has recorded on over 75 albums with artists around the world. Colin is also an active educator at schools around the world.