Over the past eight years, Ikebe Shakedown has cemented a reputation as one of New York City’s boldest, most creative instrumental bands. Combining cinematic soul, Afro–funk, deep disco, and an irrepressible groove, Ikebe Shakedown has forged a style all its own. Each song is anchored in the deep-pocketed pulse of its four-man rhythm section (Barnaby Alter, drums; Dave Bourla, percussion; Vince Chiarito, bass; Robin Schmidt, guitar) and driven by one of the tightest horn trios on the East Coast (Mike Buckley, tenor/baritone sax; Jason Colby, trumpet; Nadav Nirenberg, trombone), with tunes ranging from dance-floor burners to lush, captivating scores.

The band first came on the scene with 2009’s debut EP, Hard Steppin’, from Colemine Records. Praised by WNYC’s Soundcheck as “the perfect soundtrack for the unwritten Tarantino movie of your imagination,” the five–song release led to tours up and down both U.S. coasts and paved the way for Ikebe Shakedown’s first full-length LP on Ubiquity Records. Recorded at Killion Sound in L.A. with Orgone’s Sergio Rios and Dunham Studios in Brooklyn with noted producer Tom Brenneck, this self-titled album, released in 2011, featured 14 blistering tracks that Okayplayer called, “an adventurous trip through time” and “one of the best releases of the year.” Having toured the record throughout the U.S. and Canada, Ikebe Shakedown returned to the studio in 2014 for their follow up album for Ubiquity, Stone by Stone. Recorded at Daptone Studios, the 10-song set let the band become more adventurous than ever before, weaving psychedelic textures and raw soul into powerful compositions, or as Wax Poetics called it, “a greasy and sometimes trippy funk world.”

Now, after hitting major jazz festivals, opening on extended runs for stars like Lee Fields, and with the band’s members simultaneously touring with acts like Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires, and the Monophonics, Ikebe Shakedown is poised for their next big release in 2017. The new album, The Way Home, is due out October 20th on Colemine Records. It shows how the band’s style has continued to evolve, with material that transports listeners beyond their living rooms into dance parties and spaces for introspection. Building on the success that has led to musical features in series such as Eastbound and Down, movies like Our Brand is Crisis, and commercials for brands including Mini Cooper, Vans’ Off the Wall, and Surfline, the songs are at once richly familiar and incredibly fresh, paying homage to classic influences while pushing a brand new sound. Defying genre or classification, this album proves Ikebe Shakedown is helping define the next bold and soulful wave in instrumental music.

Surprise Chef’s music is based on evoking mood; their vivid arrangements utilize time and space to build soundscapes that invite the listener into their world. The quintet’s distinct sound pulls from 70s film scores, the funkier side of jazz, and the samples that form the foundation of hip hop. 


Hailing from just outside of Melbourne, Australia, their first two albums, All News Is Good News and Daylight Savings amassed a die-hard fanbase and brought their sound from their home studio to every corner of the globe. The band is now signed to Big Crown Records, joining a lineage of contemporary and classic sounds that have influenced Surprise Chef’s music since their formation in 2017.


Surprise Chef’s self proclaimed “moody shades of instrumental jazz-funk” encompass punchy drums, infectious keys, rhythm guitar you might hear on a Studio One record, and flute lines that could be from a Blue Note session; but when you step back and take in the entirety of their sound and approach, you’ll hear and see a group greater than the sum of its parts.

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