Sophia Kickhofel Quartet

Sophia Kickhofel will be bringing her NYC-based quartet to Berlin to perform a selection of original compositions and jazz standards. The band takes inspiration from nature and the joy in creating art to provide audiences with a sense of comfort and community.

Band Members:
Sophia Kickhofel – Alto Saxophone
Esteban Castro – Piano
Jayla Chee – Bass
Eliza Salem – Drums

◊

Sophia Kickhofel is an alto saxophonist from Apple Valley, MN, and based in New York City. She started studying classical saxophone at the age of 10 and began learning jazz music at 13. Kickhofel started to study solely jazz saxophone once she entered high school. While in high school, Kickhofel performed with national honor bands—including NYO Jazz and the National Association for Music Education Jazz Band—and received national awards, including YoungArts Finalist and the Irv Williams Fellowship. Kickhofel currently attends the Juilliard School in New York City, where she studies with bassist Ben Wolfe and saxophonist Bruce Williams. During her time in New York, she has had the opportunity to perform alongside Sean Jones, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ulysses Owens Jr., and Victor Goines at venues including Carnegie Hall, the Library of Congress, Lincoln Center Shanghai, and Dizzy’s Jazz Club. Kickhofel strives to compose and perform music that evokes empathy within and community among audiences.

Esteban Castro is a 23-year-old pianist and composer based in New York City. They perform internationally with their own band and as an in-demand sideman, having played with Billy Drummond, Francesco Cafiso, Gilad Hekselman, Giveton Gelin, Joe Farnsworth, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Marcus Miller, Mark Whitfield, Russell Hall, Ted Nash, and Wayne Escoffery, among others. Castro is a graduate from the Juilliard School on a full scholarship, and they study privately with Fred Hersch. At age 13, Castro became the youngest ever first-prize winner in the Montreux Jazz Piano Solo Competition in 2016. Castro also works as an avid composer, having composed over 50 original works, including a five movement suite for piano trio.

Jayla Chee is a New York–based bass player and composer originally from the Bay Area in California. Originally a trumpet player, Jayla took up the bass in high school and soon started performing at venues around the Bay, notably as the house bass player at the old Cafe Stritch session. She performed in bands such as the Carnegie Hall NYO jazz band and Monterey Jazz Festival’s Next Generation jazz orchestra. While earning her bachelor’s degree at the Juilliard School, Jayla was mentored by Gerald Cannon. Now in New York, Jayla maintains a busy performance schedule with regular appearances at venues throughout the city such as Smalls, Birdland, and Dizzy’s.

Eliza Salem is an in-demand drummer, educator and composer based in Brooklyn, New York. Bridging deep grooves and swing, diasporic traditions, song, and colorful improvisatory spaces, Salem strives to embody empathy, honesty, and patience in every musical and artistic context. This philosophy has allowed them to seek out, learn from, and grow alongside some of New York’s most esteemed and truthful improvisers and artists. Since moving to New York, Salem has taken part in multiple national and international tours, including Caroline Davis’s Alula throughout the United States and Australia and the Marta Sánchez trio (featuring bassist Or Bareket) in India. Salem has played in acclaimed performance spaces such as Lincoln Center, The Stone, Mezzrow, Smalls, Birdland Jazz Club, Roulette, 55 Bar, the Detroit Jazz Festival, the Newport Jazz Festival, SFJAZZ, the Vail Dance Festival, the Gilmore Piano Festival, and the Portland Jazz Festival. Salem received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in jazz studies from the University of Michigan in 2021, studying and working closely with Michael Gould, Sean Dobbins, Robert Hurst, Ellen Rowe, Marion Hayden and Andy Milne. Salem is also an alumnus of the Ravinia Steans Music Institute, a selective program focused on composition led by Rufus Reid, Steve Wilson, and Billy Childs.