Powerhouse blues / rock / jazz / funk guitarist Oz Noy joins forces with the talented Rai Thistlethwayte from Australia, the lead singer, keyboardist, and primary songwriter in the Australian pop rock band Thirsty Merc to form Ozone Squeeze.

Oz has been at the forefront of edgy-yet-rootsy guitar playing since he arrived in New York from Israel in the 1990’s. He has released four albums on the Abstract Logix label, and won Guitar Player magazine’s reader polls for “Best guitar riff on a record” (2007), “Best new talent” (2008), and “Best out there guitar player” (2013).

Rai Thistlethwayte started Thirsty Merc, a rock band which would release three successful albums (one platinum, one double-platinum in Australia). He has also performed in a number of jazz combos with the likes of Christian McBride and James Muller.

Darren Stanley has been in the music business performing, teaching and recording for the last 25 years. In recent years, he has worked with Col. Bruce Hampton, Delta Moon, and Donna the Buffalo.

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

TS3 (Timothy Seisser Trio) is thrilled to announce the release of their debut album, “It’s Just O.K.”. This new project from Chicago based Electric Bassist, Timothy Seisser, is a unique sonic mashup of Jazz/Rock/Fusion, featuring Seisser’s dazzling virtuosity on the 6 string electric bass. He is one of the best kept secrets in the Bass world, but sports a performance/recording history as a sideman that puts him at the top of the list in the Chicago Bass world. Ready to take on the leader role again, Tim started this new trio at the onset of 2020, after a chance encounter with legendary Bassist, Tim Lefebvre. The trio is rounded out by longtime friends and fellow Chicago collaborators, Drummer Jonathan Marks (Hey Champ, Monakr, Dessa, Liquid Soul, Lupe Fiasco) and Keyboardist Andrew Lawrence (Bonelang, Bonzo Squad, District 97).

TS3 is joined on this record by some of the jazz/improv world elite, including Donny McCaslin, Fareed Haque, Howard Levy and Tim Lefebvre. The production work and added electric bass work of Lefebvre is especially notable. The collaboration between Bassists makes for a truly unique sounding project, especially when finished with the stellar mixing and mastering work of top L.A. engineer, Marc Nelson. Lefebvre’s endorsement on the project will surely make some in the bass world step up, and discover Seisser’s unique approach to the Electric Bass.