Kiefer Shackelford, the Los Angeles pianist and producer who records as Kiefer, has signed to the legendary Blue Note Records for the release of a new album this fall, his debut for the label.. Kiefer has been hailed as one of the most inspired artists operating at the intersection of jazz and hip-hop. He’s developing a showcase for that sound via his newly announced Over The Breaks festival.
The fest will take place at the Lodge Room in Los Angeles this Sept. 18 and 19 with performances from GENA (Karriem Riggins + Liv.e), CARRTOONS, Luke Titus, Shibo, and more. All artists on the lineup inhabit a “jazz adjacent” sound, though Kiefer finds that term often holds artists back from a breakthrough.
“‘Jazz adjacent,’ as a term, presents a problem for the artists under that label,” Kiefer says. “It is vague and clunky, and it’s no coincidence that many acts caught in ‘jazz adjacent’ limbo struggle to find their place on festival lineups. I choose to call my music ‘Over The Breaks’ and decided to curate a festival of acts who make similar sounds. Over The Breaks, named after a J Dilla track, features artists that represent this sound to me. It means everything to have the legendary Karriem Riggins—co-producer of the original ‘Over the Breaks’ track—headlining night one.”
As for his signing to Blue Note, Kiefer adds, “When I was four years old, my dad used to play recordings of great jazz musicians and make me recite their names: John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Clark. The catalog he used to educate me was Blue Note. Blue Note is the most iconic jazz label of all time. As someone who loves jazz, to be on the Blue Note roster is a huge honor. As someone who was raised on the Blue Note catalog, it is deeply sentimental and life-affirming.”
“Kiefer represents a new generation of pianist/composers who grew up equally fluent in jazz harmony, hip hop production, and beat culture,” Blue Note President Don Was chimes in. “What makes him so special is that, beneath the modern production, is a deeply emotional and sophisticated musician with real touch, feel, and compositional identity. He’s one of the clearest examples of where contemporary music is headed and we’re thrilled to release his records on the Blue Note label.”
