Prince Birthday Celebration w/ Jazz Mafia feat. Kate Lamont

Theis is a bandleader/composer/producer based in San Francisco who plays trombone, bass, trumpet, tuba and keyboards. He has been an active member of the San Francisco Bay Area music scene for the past 15-plus years. Growing up in Sebastopol, he helped create jazz music awareness in the North Bay while leading many successful bands in his college years.

Jazz Mafia is a wrecking crew of musicians, composers, and producers whose music, media, and curated experiences shape tastes and elevate the community.

After studying with Mel Graves, Jon English, Wayne Wallace and graduating from Sonoma State University with a degree in jazz composition and performance Theis hit the road with some of the world’s best Ska bands; The Skatalites (1998/1999), Let’s Go Bowling (1998/1999), and The Specials (2001).

While performing with these well-established acts, his main concentration was always on forming his own groups. In 2000, Adam Theis co-founded Jazz Mafia; an eclectic artist collective of some of the most forward-thinking and accomplished players of Electro, Hip-Hop, World, Classical, and of course, Jazz. As Jazz Mafia’s director, Adam has assembled over 100 different live projects over the past 17 years, and led/co-led dozens of acclaimed bands. As a collection of the Bay Area's most talented and prolific musicians, singers, and MC's, the Jazz Mafia has become the quintessential San Francisco sound which now consists of Realistic Orchestra, The Shotgun Wedding Quintet, The Jazz Mafia Symphony, Jazz Mafia String Quartet, Adam Theis & Subharmonic and many other projects.

Theis has performed with hundreds of the most well-respected Bay Area musicians and national acts including: Carlos Santana, Bobby McFerrin, Lyrics Born, KRS One, Bernard Purdie, Ruben Wilson, Clyde Stubblefield, Roy Ayers, Liz Phair, Booker T. Jones, Benny Maupin (Headhunters, Miles Davis), Stanton Moore and Mickey Hart.

​​Born in the UK, singer Kate Lamont tried to hide her Indiana roots until the heartland inevitably laid the groundwork for her love of collaboration & songwriting. She recorded 7 collaborative works as well as 2 solo albums during her tenure in the midwest and spent a decade working in and building the Indianapolis arts and music community. Arriving in the Bay Area in 2012 with a folk foundation and a larger than life spirit of soul, Lamont’s sound was pushed even further. Kate released a self-titled contemporary R&B record in 2013 with drummer/producer Devon Ashley, and has since released several singles with Bay Area producers including On Again, Everything, and 2 Forever One 4 Me, featuring Kev Choice on keys. In 2020, Lamont released Konkrete Violet with artist/producers Mani Draper and NOBL. Kate also runs with the Oakland collective, Grand Nationxl, releasing 2020’s Twice on Sunday: Season One & Season One Deluxe.

​​Collaboration remains a key focus in Kate’s career, leading her to join forces with world-renowned artists Michael Henderson, Kahil El Zabar, and Corey Wilkes, as well as pioneering Bay Area producers DJ Basta, NOBL, DJ Flow, and Mani Draper. Kate landed a TEDx Talk in winter, 2018, and built a combination speaker-singer presentation on the creative power of collaboration. Kate is a voting member of the The Recording Academy, San Francisco Chapter.

​​Kate’s writing style and work ethic are influenced by mentors like Sade, Prince, and Joni Mitchell: artists whose ability to bleed pure emotion set them apart as much as their sky-high technical skills. Lamont’s vision of music as a unifying force continues to fuel songs about truth, empowerment, spirituality, and vulnerability, with lyrics connecting the dots from personal experiences to the great social issues of our time.