Inatnas Orchestra: The Music of Asuka Kakitani and JC Sanford

Inatnas Orchestra returns to the Twin Cities after a two-year hiatus! Featuring the music of composers Asuka Kakitani and JC Sanford, the ensemble presents many of the top musicians in the area and will host special guests Mark Urness on bass and Russ Johnson on trumpet, as well as local masters such as Kavy Kaviraj, Jake Baldwin, Pete Whitman, Jeff Rinear, and Dave Hagedorn. Evolving as experienced large ensemble composers in New York City for several years, Kakitani and Sanford combined their efforts upon their relocation to MN in 2016 and have made appearances at Crooners, Saturday Jazz at the Black Dog, kj's hideaway, and Anoka-Ramsey Community College Jazz Festival. The couple has been featured locally on Jazz88, MinnPost, and the Star Tribune over the years.

Asuka Kakitani: Composer, Conductor
JC Sanford: Composer, Trombone
Dave Milne, Brian Handeland, Pete Whitman, Bryan Murray, Bruce Thornton: Woodwinds
Riley Helgeson, Tom Krochock, Jake Baldwin, Russ Johnson: Trumpets
Jeff Rinear, Kirsten Warfield, Brooklynne Audette: Trombones
Dave Hagedorn, Kavyesh Kaviraj, Mark Urness, Ben Ehrlich: Rhythm
Anya Menk: Voice

Asuka Kakitani and JC Sanford are both award-winning composers who cut their teeth in New York City-based ensembles before establishing themselves as impactful forces on the Twin Cities big band scene, including the formation of Inatnas Orchestra and co-founding the Twin Cities Jazz Composers Workshop in 2017. Each has released internationally acclaimed large ensemble albums and have been acknowledged in DownBeat Magazine's Critics Polls several times over the years. They have each received McKnight Composer Fellowships, as well as grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board, Southeast Minnesota Arts Council, the Jerome Foundation, and others. Sanford has also conducted several distinguished large ensembles, including the 3x-Grammy nominated John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, the North German Radio (NDR) Big Band, and the Alice Coltrane Orchestra featuring Reggie Workman and Jack DeJohnette. Kakitani was featured on the international radio program "PRI's The World" and is currently working on a commission for the world-class percussion ensemble Third Coast Percussion.

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