Jens Kuross is a musician and singer-songwriter based in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

. In addition to his solo career he has recorded and toured with Palace (band), Hayden Pedigo,

Curtis Stigers Curtis Stigers (born October 18, 1965) is an American jazz singer. He achieved a number of hits in the early 1990s, most notably the international hit " I Wonder Why" (1991), which reached No. 5 in the UK and No. 9 in the US. Career S ...

The Acid The Acid are an electronic music quartet consisting of British DJ and record producer Adam Freeland; Californian producer, composer, and professor of music technology Steve Nalepa; American singer/songwriter Jens Kuross; and Los Angeles–based ...

, and RY X among others.

Personal life

Jens was born in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, but moved to

Ketchum, Idaho Ketchum is a city in Blaine County, Idaho, United States. Located in the central part of the state, the population was 3,555 at the 2020 census, up from 2,689 in 2010. Located in the Wood River Valley, Ketchum is adjacent to Sun Valley and ...

with his family when he was six years old. Jens began his professional music career at the age of 15 when he began drumming for a jazz trio in the Duchin room (named after the wife of American pianist and bandleader

Eddie Duchin Edwin Frank Duchin (April 1, 1909 – February 9, 1951), commonly known as Eddy Duchin or alternatively Eddie Duchin, was an American popular music pianist and bandleader during the 1930s and 1940s. Early career Duchin was born on April 1, 1909, ...

). He continued to play this gig regularly until he moved, sharing the bandstand with and learning from the gig's bassist, Jeff Rew, a former session player from

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

who had spent time on the road with both

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

and the

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...

big band. After graduating from Wood River High School, Jens moved to Boston to study at the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

, graduating with a degree in jazz drum set performance. He then moved to Los Angeles where he played in the local Jazz scene and worked as a session musician in a variety of genres and capacities. He earned a master's degree from

Azusa Pacific University Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private evangelical research university in Azusa, California, United States. The university was founded in 1899 in Whittier, California, with classes first held on March 3, 1900, and degrees offered in 193 ...

in Jazz Performance in 2013. Jens moved back to Idaho in 2020.

Career

In 2016, Jens Kuross released his self-titled debut EP via London-based record label Aesop. It gained favourable reviews from a number of high-profile blogs and publications, includin
The Line Of Best Fit
an
DIY Magazine
In 2017, Kuross supported DJ/producer

Bonobo (musician) Simon Green (born 30 March 1976), known by his stage name Bonobo, is an English musician, producer, and DJ based in Los Angeles. He debuted with a trip hop aesthetic and has since explored more upbeat approaches as well as jazz and world music ...

on his European tour. Later that year Jens also wrote and recorded with minimal electronic artist

on their debut album Liminal and his single "Spiraling" was featured in the closing credits of an episode of

Lucifer (TV series) ''Lucifer'' is an American urban fantasy television series developed by Tom Kapinos that began airing on January 25 2016 and concluded on September 10 2021. It revolves around Lucifer Morningstar ( Tom Ellis), an alternate version of the DC C ...

. In April 2018, Kuross released his new EP, 'Art! at the expense of mental health, Vol. 1', supporting the release with two Europe tours. One supporting

Rhye Rhye is an R&B musical project of Canadian singer Mike Milosh. It originally consisted of him and Danish instrumentalist Robin Hannibal. They released the singles "Open" and "The Fall" online without much detail, which led to speculation abo ...

and one supporting

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...

-nominated Jazz trio

GoGo Penguin GoGo Penguin are an English band from Manchester, consisting of pianist Chris Illingworth, bassist Nick Blacka, and drummer Jon Scott. They formed in 2012 and, as of , they have released seven studio albums, two EPs, and three live albums. ...

. He also played his first London headline show at Servant Jazz Quarters, selling out the venue. In October 2018, Kuross released the second installment of his 'Art! at the expense of mental health' project, 'Art! at the expense of mental health, Vol. 2'. In April 2019, Jens Kuross released his single, 'Give Me Your Ghost'. Kuross released his debut album, The Man Nobody Can Touch, on 25 September 2020 but the Covid pandemic forced him to cancel all touring support and promotion for the release. Kuross moved back to Idaho during the pandemic and after an album he wrote and recorded in his living room failed to find any label interest Jens was dropped by his management and booking agents. The album remains unreleased and he currently works as a cabinet maker. In 2024 Jens released a collection of B-sides from the unreleased album on the Berlin based label Bigamo as an EP titled "Everything is Poisonous". Alongside his solo endeavours, Kuross has forged a successful career as a studio and touring musician. He has performed and recorded drum, percussion and keyboard parts for numerous musicians and ensembles in a variety of genres.

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuross, Jens Living people Singers from Seattle Year of birth missing (living people) Singer-songwriters from Washington (state)