Emily Kuhn Quintet

Emily Kuhn Quintet
$15,000
Chicago, Illinois

About the Artist

Chicago-based trumpet player Emily Kuhn has made a name for herself as a composer and trumpeter with a distinctively lyrical voice. Originally from Charlottesville, VA, Emily is an active bandleader, sidewoman, composer, and educator on the Chicago jazz scene. She released two albums via BACE Records, Sky Stories (2020) and Ghosts of Us (2023), to numerous accolades. She has brought her original music to festivals including Stanford Jazz Festival, Hey Nonny's Women's Jazz Festival, the
Festival of New Trumpet Music, the MCA's Tuesdays on the Terrace, and the Chicago Park District's Night Out in the Parks series, and her work has been recognized by the Luminarts Cultural Foundation, Chicago DCASE, and the Chicago Reader.

The Emily Kuhn Quintet features some of Chicago’s most creative and dynamic improvisers: joining Emily on trumpet are Erik Skov (guitar), Meghan Stagl (piano/vocals), Kitt Lyles (bass), and Gustavo Cortiñas (drums). They perform Emily’s original music, which explores orchestration, improvisation, and counterpoint to create moments of emotional clarity and catharsis. The group relies on their strong foundation of musical trust to deftly navigate influences from jazz, rock, chamber music, and
Americana. Emily formed the ensemble in 2021 in response to a commission from the Festival of New Trumpet Music; currently, they perform regularly throughout Chicago and the surrounding area. Their recent release, “Ghosts of Us,” was described as "the kind of lyrical, spacious jazz that draws you deep within its cocoon-like atmosphere" (Matt Collar, All Music); the album draws inspiration from the Covid-19 pandemic, meditating on themes of stillness, connection, grief, and hope. The compositions create space for the band to collectively shape the music and for textural elements to take center stage, creating an evocative collection that invites listeners to briefly be still and breathe. In November 2023, the band completed a Midwest album release tour through North Street Cabaret (Madison, WI), the Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts (Milwaukee, WI), Merriman’s Playhouse (South Bend, IN), the Book Nook and Java Shop (Montague, MI), and BLU Jazz+ (Akron, OH). In 2024, the quintet will be putting on a summer concert series through Chicago’s Night Out in the Parks program, performing at the Stanford
Jazz Festival, and recording their second album, featuring a new set of original compositions which use imagery of snow and fire to explore themes of resilience.