Katalyst Connection Series with Vincent Davis, Preyas Roy, & Kris Funn

Vincent Davis, drums
Preyas Roy, vibraphone
Kris Funn, bass

Vincent Davis, born in Chicago in 1957, is an internationally acclaimed jazz percussionist, composer and teacher. In 1979, he entered the Milwaukee Conservatory of Music, where he met his mentor Manty Ellis, with whom he primarily focused on Jazz Trap drumming.He was introduced to Roscoe Mitchell in 1985 and has been touring and working with him for 25 years. In addition to touring worldwide, Davis can be heard on studio recordings such as Roscoe Mitchell's Songs in the Wind, and This Dance is for Steve McCall, Jodie Christian's Experience, and Rain or Shine, Scott Field's 48 Motives January 11, 1996, and Jane Reynolds' Gathering.Davis has collaborated with many of the most well-known jazz musicians. He is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) and has worked and recorded with many of the founding members, including Malachi Favors, Joseph Jarman, George Lewis, Ari Brown, Fred Anderson and Don Moye. Davis currently collaborates with the second generation of AACM members, mainly Ernest Dawkins and Nicole Mitchell. He is the founder of the Avante Garde free form band "Laws of Motion", which includes Vincent Davis, Ed Wilkerson, Darius Savage and Scott Hesse.

Syracuse native Preyas Roy is an accomplished vibraphonist and marimba player. He studied at the University of Chicago, where he met his mentor, Sam Williams, who introduced Roy to street performing; Roy soon became immersed in that improvisational space. He first played with Vincent Davis in 2011, performing a tribute to Baba Fred Anderson. Their ongoing weekly sessions began days later, and over the years have included spectacular improvisors in Chicago’s creative and experimental music scene. He has worked with Hanah Jon Taylor, Scott Hesse, Junius Paul, Ben Schmidt-Swarz, Andrew Lawrence, Darius Savage, and others. This year, Roy began hosting popular Monday jam sessions at The Katalyst.

Kris Funn was born and raised in Baltimore. He began playing trumpet at age four and took up the double bass at age 14 through the instruction of his father, Charles Funn. Kris performed his first professional bass gig that same year – and won the “unsung hero” award at the Fish Middleton Jazz Competition at the East Coast Jazz Festival. Funn graduated with honors in computer science from Howard University, where he also performied in the Jazz Ensemble. At age 23, Funn began touring internationally with alto saxophonist Kenny Garrett. He has performed Christian Scott, Nicholas Payton, Benny Golson, Bruce Williams, Warren Wolf, Sean Jones, Pharoah Sanders, Jeff Lorber, Kamasi Washington, Joey Alexander and many others. Funn has appeared on several recordings including three Christian Scott albums. He recently released his debut album, Cornerstore.

In-person tickets: $30 / $10 students
Attendees receive a link to the recording to view for one week after the concert.

Streaming passes: $15
The link will remain active through Sept. 5

Donations welcome!