JJ Mazza is a young Downbeat award winning drummer in the Denver area. A senior at the Denver School of the Arts, JJ has already put together an impressive resume, including: YoungArts Winner (2022), Denver School of the Arts Jazz Workshop Orchestra, Colorado All-State Jazz Band (2019,2021), Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Competition and Festival (2019,2020), UNC Jazz Festival, Blues Foundation International Blues Challenge, ASTA National Orchestra Festival, Five Points Jazz Festival, and more.

JJ’s new project, Kalimari Desert strives to see just how far the jazz trio can go. Their instrumentation of vibraphone, bass, and drums provides just enough sonic information to be inviting, but lends itself well to heavy improvisation and experimentation, which all members of the group (JJ Mazza on drums, Lazlo Torok on vibraphone and Hunter Roberts on bass) run with and excel at. Presenting the original music of Mazza, Torok, and Roberts, JJ is incredibly excited to present KALIMARI DESERT.

Joining them for this very special performance is trumpeter Shane Endsley. The child of symphony musicians, Shane Endsley grew up immersed in the sound of trumpet and flute practice and surrounded by stacks of vinyl records. This early classical instruction served him well in terms of technique and tone production. Then using his father’s Bix Beiderbecke and big band records as a springboard, Shane began pointing his horn in a more experimental direction as he grew older. His commitment to music was absolute by the time he graduated high school and he gave chase to further studies at the Eastman School of Music. There he met fellow Kneebody members Adam Benjamin, Ben Wendel, and Kaveh Rastegar, and began to develop the framework for their Grammy Award-nominated group.

JJ Mazza – Drums
Shane Endsley – Trumpet
Lazlo Torok – Vibraphone
Hunter Roberts – Bass

Get Tickets!