Artist description Kyle Bronsdon -- Taking Jazz Back to the Street! Original music that makes a subtle departure from traditional jazz and swing with deep blues roots.

Music Style Vocal and Instrumental Swing Piano Trio

Musical Influences Harry Connick Jr.; Four Blazes; Louis Armstrong; Duke Ellington; Sammy Davis Jr.; Frank Zappa; Tom Waits; trad blues

Similar Artists Harry Connick Jr.; Indigo Swing; Louis Jordan

Artist History Kyle Bronsdon is not the world's greatest drummer. He's not the best singer to come out of the Swing Renaissance, either. He doesn't write the most inspired or influential songs you've ever heard, isn't exactly a chick magnet, and will probably never light his drums on fire or climb up the side of the stage into the balcony. When it comes down to it, he plays frontman in a trio of sidemen. And jazz aficionados, blues fans, and Lindy Hoppers alike all tend to like him. He does keep real good time. The trio consists of three good timekeepers who made their debut on Hollywood's Sunset Strip at the Argyle Hotel's third anniversary celebration of the essential guide to retro culture, Atomic Magazine. Bronsdon formed the trio within a month of relocating to Los Angeles from Tucson, where his previous swing trio, Kearney, Grams & Bronsdon (a/k/a ''The KGB Trio'') had just been awarded the 2002 TAMMIE (Tucson Area Music Award) for Best Traditional Jazz artist. ''I’m a jazzer,'' he says, ''and I couldn't ask for more than swing for the music I perform for people. It's jazz, there's a lot of humor in the material, it's accessible and it's danceable. And that's what I want to do, take jazz back to the street -- and keep it there.” The drummer formed KGB after the three left Arizona's premier swing band the Kings of Pleasure, which Bronsdon joined in 1998, at the peak of the Swing Renaissance. He toured regionally with KOP (who won the TAMMIE for Best Swing Band during his tenure) and performed regularly at the legendary Derby in Los Angeles. KGB became instantly popular with Lindy Hoppers and went on to perform at dozens of regional events for the swing scene that had by then gone back underground from whence it came. The trio was a particular favorite at Phoenix's New Year Swing Jam (2001&2002) with Lindy pioneer Frankie Manning, and the Sin City Swing Exchange in Las Vegas (2002). Bronsdon recorded two albums with KGB, ''Nine Waters, No Tip'' (1999) and ''To Go'' (released in 2002 on Bronsdon's Vitalegacy label), which have both circulated nationally without national distribution. A veteran of the Chicago music scene, Kyle has dedicated over half his life to the drum kit. He studied composition with Stan Kenton arranger Bill Russo and Moog pioneer Hans Wurman, and perfected his shuffle sitting in with myriad Windy City blues artists, including James Cotton, at the historic Checkerboard Lounge, where only the most dedicated white musicians dare to play. Bronsdon's time on 43rd and Martin Luther King taught him the value of guts, honesty, and the backbeat, which he has carried with him to the present. Today he pulls all his resources together, performing with his new trio, and writing and recording his solo debut. He has little, if any, doubt of the value of the music he continues to play, regardless of media attention and commercial success. ''With all these born-again patriots lately,'' he muses, ''you'd think that America's original music, and greatest cultural contribution to the world, that everybody would be doing Lindy Hop. Fortunately,'' he adds with a smile, ''we have a diehard niche of people with impeccable taste.'' He describes his playing style as ''like breaking out of jail.''

Instruments Piano, bass, drums, voice and the occasional horn

Albums Kitchen Swing; Nine Waters No Tip; To Go

Press Reviews ''...one with la vie de cocktail.'' – Kat Griffin, ''Madly Cocktail,'' KCSN 88.5 FM Northridge, CA and ''Jazz in Song'' KKJZ 88.1 FM Long Beach ''...one of the best jazz artists on CD Baby!'' – Derek Sivers, President, CD Baby ''...the die-hards kept the torch burning...'' – Stephen Seigel, Tucson Weekly ''...embodies everything rock 'n' roll rebelled against in 1954: swing, sophistication, smooth jazzy grooves...and an absolute refusal to take themselves seriously except in their obvious craftsmanship.'' – Stuart Faxon, Tucson Blues Society

Location North Hollywood, CA - USA

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