KATIE THIROUX TRIO

A triple threat talent, Katie Thiroux has garnered considerable attention for her bravura bass playing, assured singing and compelling compositions. With the release of her debut album, Introducing Katie Thiroux (2015), her substantial gifts as a bandleader and recording artist are now also on view. Audiences and critics agree as this release received many awards including "Debut Record of the Year" from the Huffington Post, All About Jazz, Jazz Journalists Association and "Top 5 Debut Records of the Year" from NPR Jazz Critics Poll.   Lending contemporary flair to mainstream stylings, Thiroux carries on the hard swinging tradition of such bass masters as Ray Brown and John Clayton, while channeling the buoyant vocal finesse of iconic singers including Anita O’Day, Chet Baker and Ella Fitzgerald. Thiroux offers in-the-moment jazz that draws upon the rich history of the music, from swing to bebop and beyond. 

In 2015 Thiroux was a semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk Competition, featured on WBGO’s “The Checkout,” Downbeat Magazine and NPR. Thiroux's recent performances with her quartet include Birdland, the San Jose Summer Jazz Fest, NAMM and the Juneau Jazz and Classics Festival. Thiroux’s sophmore release, Off Beat, features Ken Peplowski and Justin Kauflin and will be released on Capri Records in the Summer of 2017 with touring starting in early 2017. 

In addition to work with her quartet, Thiroux is an active member of the Larry Fuller Trio and has has been heard with, among others, pianists Bill Cunliffe, Geri Allen, Helen Sung, Tamir Hendelman and Eric Reed, trumpeters Brian Lynch and Terrell Stafford,  saxophonists Jeff Clayton, Charles McPhearson and Ken Peplowski, guitarists Mundell Lowe and Larry Koonse, drummers Lewis Nash and Jeff Hamilton, and vocalists Niki Harris and Tierney Sutton. Having performed at jazz festivals in the United States, Mexico, Germany, Finland, Serbia, Singapore and Switzerland as both a leader and a sideman, Thiroux often incorporates workshops for students and audiences. It is her passionate belief that exposure to jazz history, culture and styles is vital in keeping the music alive and thriving.  Katie’s swinging bass, clear vocals and inspired instrumental arrangements are reflective of her musical idols both past and present. Katie Thiroux’s knowledge, perseverance and fervor for the music make her a rising star in today’s scene.