Excerpt from Bass Player Magazine – “We wanted our debut to be an honest representation of ourselves,” John says.“While there’s a lot of shredding, Indian rhythms, looping and tapping, each song has immense emotional significance. We took our time to make sure nothing was gratuitous. This album is who we are. I play a 5-string bass and loop chords and melodies while playing basslines on my homemade Taurus pedals. Seth plays drum set, tablas, and a variety of hand percussion instruments. We play everything you hear on the album, and we try not to record it if we can’t do it live.” Moutal’s plethora of percussive timbres blends with Ferrara’s trademark cascading loops and growling hand-built synths to create an immersive tapestry of sound and groove.

John Ferrara is a founding member of Consider the Source, a bassist, composer, and teacher.

John’s style blends deep grooves, contrapuntal tapping, dense chords and classical Indian percussion, with shades of avant guard experimentation. He has earned a reputation as a renaissance bassist, pulling from many different techniques from slapping, to tapping to finger style. He utilizes looping and custom midi foot pedals to play bass lines, freeing up his hands to treat his instrument like a piano, guitar, percussion instrument or vocalist. Combining all these together makes for a massive sound.

Based in Chicago and Nashville, Kick The Cat is an internationally renowned fusion quartet. Musically, the band falls within the virtuosic lineage of classic fusion and prog ensembles like Return to Forever and Weather Report but draws on contemporary groove elements, electronics, and a healthy dose of humor. The result is a heady, yet approachable, combination of mind-bending rhythms, harmonies, and kaleidoscopic textures.

The band formed while in college in the late 1990s, performing one another’s unique and challenging compositions. At the time, the four musicians lived together and worked on their music while also individually making names for themselves in the Chicago music scene. Over the last twenty years Kick The Cat has released three full length albums of original material and has performed hundreds of shows, headlining and opening for national acts such as Umphrey’s McGee, Vital Information, Oz Noy, Jazz Mandolin Project, John Novello, Stu Hamm, and more. KTC has long been noted as being one of the most engaging ensembles to emerge from Chicago’s richly varied scene.

Drummer Kris Myers is a founding member of KTC (performing on the first two albums) but left the band in 2003 after being recruited by now-renowned jam band Umphrey’s McGee. He was temporarily replaced by Tom Hipskind (Hamilton, Brian Culbertson), but has rejoined the original lineup for the current album and shows. Guitarist Chris Siebold is a well known prodigy and in-demand session player in Chicago who has also performed regularly with Howard Levy and Garrison Keeler’s Prairie Home Companion. Keyboardist Vijay Tellis-Nayak has performed with many greats including Marcus Miller and Jennifer Hudson and was featured in 2007’s Keyboard Magazine for KTC’s Scramble album as Unsigned Artist of the Month. He is also one of the owners and producers at Chicago’s Transient Sound Recording Studio. Bassist and multi-instrumentalist Chris Clemente is one of the most sought after musicians and educators in Chicago and has performed with many greats including Jon Secada, Randy Brecker, and Kanye West

KTC’s new album Gurgle (due out June 2021) is a long awaited tour de force. It’s varied style takes you from 70s-style fusion to Rio’s Carnival, from dub-step to RnB, and from Zappa to country, all the while telling a story in a humorous, ponderous, and delightfully irreverent tone.

Chris Clemente – Bass
Kris Myers – Drums
Chris Siebold – Guitar
Vijay Tellis-Nayak – Keyboards

After playing on live recordings with a number of artists from 2003 thru 2010 Donald Alford II felt it was time to produce his own record. In May 2010, as owner of Don J Music Productions, Donald released his first project, entitled “Chasing Dreams”. This inspirational jazz project resonates the sound and influence of instrumental jazz greats that have touched many lives around the world.

“Chasing Dreams” is the result of years of dreaming and chasing greatness. Donald Alford II received a vast amount of his musical inspiration from his father, Donald L. Alford Sr., an extraordinary songwriter, psalmist and composer. Growing up in Maywood, Illinois while attending his father’s church, Donald II learned to value and love great music by listening to some of gospel’s most influential musicians and artists.

As a young child, Donald found music to be one of his primary interests. He first began playing the guitar and later took interest in the bass guitar. While continuing to perfect his craft, Donald’s amazing skill provided him the opportunity to become a full-time musician, not only in his local church, but in other churches in the Chicagoland area.

Donald Alford II is no ordinary bass guitar player. His soulful expression has gained him notoriety and allowed him to tour with gospel greats, such as, Kirk Franklin, Marvin Sapp, Yolanda Adams, Fred Hammond, BeeBee& CeeCee Winans, THE WINANS, Smokie Norful, Donald Lawrence, J. Moss, Walter Hawkins, De’Andre Patterson and Vashawn Mitchell. He has also performed with artists, such as, Pattie Labelle, Mary Mary, The Clark Sisters, Donnie McClurkin, Tramaine Hawkins, The Winans, Hezekiah Walker and Kim Burrell.

As his musical demand grew, he began writing and producing music with an infusion of various genres’ gaining him musical credit as a songwriter, composer and producer for artist’s such as Keyshia Cole “Trust” (Different Me), Syleena Johnson “Be Me” (Labor Pains Chapter 4) and being nominated for the 2010 Grammy’s for Charlie Wilson “Supa Sexxy.” Donald Alford II’s awards include being honored at ASCAP’s 23rd Annual Rhythm & Soul Music Awards, recognizing the song “TRUST” as one of the top ASCAP songs on the 2009 year-end charts.