Photo by Marion Aguas
Kengchakaj - piano/synth/electronics
Alfredo Colon - saxophone
Kobi Abcede - drums
Melissa Almaguer - tap dance
Nitcha Tothong - live visual
Harish Raghavan - bass
For The Jazz Gallery performance, Kengchakaj will revisit and reimagine composition from his debut album "Lak Lan" as well as continue to explore and experiment with music from his new project "Yon Yæng." It will be a mix of musical pieces and emotional content that may be represented in the opposite direction, but all of it is a reflection of himself. Some political, some personal struggles, some heartfelt and warm, some healing, some frustrated and angry, and some academic and technology-oriented.
Kengchakaj is a Bangkok-born, New York-based award-winning pianist, improviser, and electronics experimentalist. Kengchakaj practice engages with improvising sounds that draw inspiration from ancestral soundscapes, knowledge, and modes of collaboration and expression rooted in Southeast Asian tradition and lineage.
He is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, a Fulbright Scholarship recipient, and a Gold Award Lumen Prize winner with Nitcha Tothong. Kengchakaj was a 2023-2024 CultureHub artist in residence, New Museum’s Y10 NEW INC member, Eyebeam Democracy Machine Fellow, Babycastles artist in residence, and participated in Nusasonic’s Common Tonalities project. His projects have received development funds from Queens Council on the Arts, City Artist Corps, Rhizome micro-grant, and Processing Foundation.
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The Jazz Gallery is a not-for-profit arts organization presenting emerging artists who challenge convention, take creative risks, and lead their field as performers, composers and thinkers. We provide a platform for artists to discover their unique voice and a home for established musicians to continue to experiment and grow. At The Jazz Gallery, artists and audiences come together from around the world to explore new creative ideas, collaborate and celebrate jazz as a dynamic art form that reflects our ever-changing world.
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