Kristina Koller

Friday, December 22nd and Saturday, December 23rd

The Kristina Koller Quartet

“Kristina​ ​has​ ​proven​ ​to​ ​be​ ​a​ ​force​ ​in​ ​the​ ​vocal​ ​jazz​ ​arena.​ ​She​ ​is​ ​always​ ​challenging​ ​herself​ ​and searching​ ​further​ ​than​ ​what​ ​she​ ​already​ ​knows.​ ​This​ ​album​ ​is​ ​a​ ​demonstration​ ​of​ ​her​ ​various​ ​abilities and​ ​how​ ​she​ ​has​ ​the​ ​instincts​ ​to​ ​choose​ ​the​ ​perfect​ ​musicians​ ​for​ ​her​ ​band.”​

​-​ ​Cyrille​ ​Aimée

Accomplished, New York-based, vocalist, composer and arranger Kristina Koller is proud to announce her holiday arrival at The Velvet Note with music from the soon-to-be-released debut album “Perception”.  ​With the help of her talented and tightly-knit trio, which features Fima Chupakhin on piano, Chris Talio on bass and Darrian Douglas on drums, Koller will present her chops as a singer, songwriter and arranger and one of the most applauded rising stars in jazz.

Watch Kristina’s Holiday Special Salute HERE.

It is always a joy to witness an evolving musical talent. Jazz artist Kristina Koller has developed quickly

Pianist Fima Chupakhin

into a highly individual vocalist. Her sound is both timeless and contemporary. As a composer, Kristina melds diverse genres of music into her songs. While she loves singing standards and straight ahead jazz, Kristina also enjoys arranging tunes in unusual ways, knowing that adding to the legacy of jazz is much more important than merely recreating the performances of others. She reinvents classic material while retaining their essence, putting her own winning personality and fresh ideas into the lyrics that she interprets.

Growing up just outside of New York City Kristina was exposed to an array of live music & dance – attending live ballet, Broadway shows, opera, jazz festivals and rock concerts. As such, she began

Bassist Chris Talio

performing in youth-oriented musical theater at an early age. Out of that experience Kristina branched out artistically, embracing solo performance as a singer-songwriter and vocalist in alternative rock
bands. Through study of classical music & opera, Kristina improved her singing and learned different voice techniques, strengthening her range and vocal depth. While inspired by Amy Winehouse’s versatility and open-minded approach to music, Kristina’s desire to express herself freely as a vocalist pulled her into the orbit of jazz where she discovered the music of Ella Fitzgerald, Anita O’Day, Sarah Vaughan and Chet Baker. During her teen years, her embrace of jazz music expanded into the performance space, joining a jazz quartet that gigged regularly.

With a music scholarship, Kristina studied jazz at the Hartt School’s Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz and

Drummer Darrian Douglas

finished her formal music education at The City College of New York where she received her BFA in Jazz
Studies. She has studied with prominent jazz musicians such as Steve Wilson, Charenee Wade, Marion
Cowings, Cyrille Aimee & Amy London.

Kristina has performed at many venues & halls throughout New York City including The Apollo Theater, Symphony Space, Smoke, Mezzrow, Minton’s & Rockwood Music Hall. She was a featured artist at the 2016 New Brunswick Women in Jazz Series. Kristina was selected and performed as a Jazz Discovery Artist for the 2017 Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival. Kristina and her Quintet were semi-finalists in the 2017 DCJazzPrix competition.

Kristina’s music connects with new audiences outside of the jazz music circle, melding jazz, funk, R&B, alt-rock sounds into her arrangements and compositions. Kristina Koller is a very original contemporary jazz vocalist, one that anyone interested in jazz, or for that matter progressive music, needs to hear.

Showtimes:  7:30pm and 9:30pm       Admission: $29.

*** SOLD OUT!!  SOLD OUT!!  SOLD OUT!!  SOLD OUT!! ***