[jinju Kim , Eriko Kitagawa, Ari Roland, And Keith Balla] at Five Spot Jazz

Jinju Kim - Vocal

Jazz vocalist Jinju Kim, completed her bachelor's degree in Jazz Vocalists at Prince Claus Conservatoire in the Netherlands in 2023. She studied with great New York musicians such as Jessie Davis, David Berkman, Bruce Barth, Michael Kanan, and Steve Nelson in Europe, and was able to take the stage with the prestigious Dutch orchestra NNO, Noord Netherlands Orkestra, honorable performance as a student, as well as perfomed with great jazz musicians such as Dado Moroni, Joris Teepe, and Joost van Schaik. After graduating in the Netherlands, she returned to her home, Seoul, Korea, where she continued her impressive career as a jazz musician, performing actively at various jazz clubs. Eventually, she is expanding her career in New York with the start of a master's program of Jazz Studies at Queens College from the Fall in 2024....

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Jinju Kim - Vocal

Jazz vocalist Jinju Kim, completed her bachelor's degree in Jazz Vocalists at Prince Claus Conservatoire in the Netherlands in 2023. She studied with great New York musicians such as Jessie Davis, David Berkman, Bruce Barth, Michael Kanan, and Steve Nelson in Europe, and was able to take the stage with the prestigious Dutch orchestra NNO, Noord Netherlands Orkestra, honorable performance as a student, as well as perfomed with great jazz musicians such as Dado Moroni, Joris Teepe, and Joost van Schaik. After graduating in the Netherlands, she returned to her home, Seoul, Korea, where she continued her impressive career as a jazz musician, performing actively at various jazz clubs. Eventually, she is expanding her career in New York with the start of a master's program of Jazz Studies at Queens College from the Fall in 2024.

Eriko Kitagawa - Piano

Eriko Kitagawa is a jazz pianist from Tokyo, Japan. A graduate of Waseda University, she has performed at a wide range of venues throughout Japan, including lounges of prestigious international hotels. In 2024, she relocated to New York City, where she is currently studying jazz piano under Bruce Barth. She was selected as a member of the Chris Byars Octet and is actively performing at renowned jazz clubs such as Smalls and Ornithology.

Ari Roland - Bass

Ari Roland has led U.S. State Department “Jazz Ambassadors” tours throughout Asia, The Middle East, Africa and Europe. He has featured in the groups of jazz icons Betty Carter, Barry Harris, Lou Donaldson, Dakota Staton, George Coleman, Harold Mabern, Cecil Payne, Annie Ross, Freddie Redd, Teddy Charles, Junior Cook and Vernell Fournier among numerous others. A native of New York City and classically trained at Juilliard, he is on faculty at The New School and The Tribeca Jazz Institute, and has appeared extensively as a clinician for Jazz At Lincoln Center.

Keith Balla - Drums

A native of Austin, Texas, drummer Keith Balla began playing at the age of 13, inspired by his older brother, who through his record collection exposed him to the rich lineage of jazz drummers.
After moving to New York at 17 to pursue his musical studies at Purchase College, Balla sought the tutelage of the great drummer/educators Kenny Washington and John Riley, and found equal inspiration in the performances of master drummers such as Leroy Williams, Jimmy Wormworth, Jackie Williams, Fukushi Tainaka, Joe Farnsworth, Clifford Barbaro, Steve Little, Taro Okamoto and the archival recordings of the late Jimmy Lovelace. He quickly found himself immersed in the fertile jazz community of New York City, performing at many of New York's finest jazz venues such as Smalls, Mezzrow, Smoke, The Metropolitan Room, The Zinc Bar, The Jazz Gallery and Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola. In addition to forging strong musical ties to the myriad of talented young jazz musicians on the New York City scene, Balla has had the good fortune to perform alongside some elder jazz giants such as pianist/composer of Blue Note Records fame, Freddie Redd, the late tenor saxophone master Charles Davis, vocal legend Annie Ross, and famed pianist and bebop pedagogue Dr. Barry Harris.
A very important musical collaboration spanning many years has been with a uniquely gifted artist, the world renowned guitarist Pasquale Grasso, in a trio format with the brilliant bassist Ari Roland. Their residency on Mondays at the famed New York City jazz club Mezzrow has been a destination for jazz listeners for over 10 years, in addition to performances at the Atlanta Jazz Festival, Stanford Jazz Workshop, Savannah Jazz Festival, clubs throughout the United States, Jarasum International Jazz Festival in Korea, and Singapore’s Jazz in July festival.
The Pasquale Grasso Trio accompanied jazz vocal sensation Samara Joy from 2021-2022, appearing at Newport Jazz Festival, Monterrey Jazz Festival, Savannah Jazz Festival, Tri-C (Cleveland) Jazz Festival, Vail Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Chicago Harris Theater, Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, and many other venues. Over the years, his conception of music has been inspired through a varied resume as a freelancer on the NYC scene, working as a sideman with Ari Roland, Zaid Nasser, Luigi Grasso, Tardo Hammer, Chris Byars, Stefano Doglioni, Neal Miner, Yaala Ballin, Pete Malinverni, Grant Stewart, Tad Shull, Michael Weiss, Greg Ruggerio, and many others. Beyond NYC, Keith Balla has performed concerts and conducted educational workshops in 51 countries spanning Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East as a member of the Ari Roland Jazz Quartet with the US State Department’s “American Music Abroad” program—-a life changing opportunity to experience how music has the capacity to bring people together.

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