Kyle Athayde Dance Party - Kyle Athayde Dance Party (2017)

A vibraphonist and multi-instrumentalist who also performs on piano, bass, bass clarinet, drums and sundry percussion, Orinda native Kyle Athayde hails from a musical family and has thrived bicoastally as a composer, arranger, teacher, and bandleader best known for the Kyle Athayde Dance Party, his stylistically omnivorous big band. He makes his second appearance in the Joe Henderson Lab following his 2021-22 Season Hotplate tribute to Chick Corea and Gary Burton’s classic ECM duo album Crystal Silence with his current ensemble.
Inspired by modern composition ranging from Shostakovich and Stravinsky to Duke Ellington and Eric Dolphy, Athayde stretched his talents into multiple disciplines while a student at Juilliard, which informs his omnivorous aesthetic.
His work as a composer and arranger has been commissioned by the New York Sinfonietta, Bobby Sanabria and The Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, the Canadian Brass, The New York Trumpet Ensemble, and the San Francisco Conservatory Brass Choir, among others.
As a performer, Athayde has worked extensively with the Nate Sparks Big Band, the Jon Hatamiya Big Band, Ryan DeWeese’s RADJazz Orchestra, and works as composer and arranger with saxophonist Eddie Barbash’s double quartet.