The Gramophone to present shows in May from Umoja Orchestra, David Fiuczynski's KiF

The Gramophone has announced a couple of shows in May featuring touring artists that may be of interest to St. Louis jazz listeners.

On Tuesday, May 12, the club will present the Umoja Orchestra, a 12-member group from Gainesville, FL whose sound incorporates jazz, Latin, Afrobeat, funk, and more. You can see an excerpt from an Umoja Orchestra performance earlier this month in the embedded video window at the bottom of this post.

Then on Saturday, May 16, guitarist David Fiuczynski's KiF will take the stage at The Gramophone. Regarded as one of the technically accomplished electric guitarists alive today, Ficzynski (pictured) is known as the leader of the band Screaming Headless Torsos and has collaborated with many well-known jazz and rock musicians, including Meshell Ndege'Ocello, Stewart Copeland, Marcus Miller, Victor Bailey, Kenny Garrett, Dennis Chambers, John Medeski, Bernie Worrell, Steve Coleman, Hiromi, and Christian McBride. KiF is a trio that also features bassist Evan Marien and drummer Jovol "Bam Bam" Bell.