21-year-young jazz guitarist, Lucas Kadish, was born and raised in Northeast Ohio. There he spent his formative years discovering a deep love for many types of music. In his late teens he began studying and playing with Theron Brown, Dan Wilson, Bobby Selvaggio, and many other staples of the scene.
By graduation he had already been named a National YoungArts finalist and a semi-finalist in the United States Presidential Scholars of the Arts for jazz guitar. He was admitted to The New School for Jazz on the President’s Scholarship and moved to NYC. In his first year of college, Lucas was selected for the prestigious international Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Residency for composition.
Since, Lucas continues to grow as a working musician and composer. He has shared the stage and played with jazz luminaries such as Les McCann, Javon Jackson, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Dominick Faranacci, Bobby Selvaggio, and many others. He has performed internationally with Nick Dunston’s Dinner Party at the Bern Jazz Festival and Devon Gillingham’s Trio at the Winnipeg Jazz Festival. Lucas has also performed around the country at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Appel Room (NYC), the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage (DC), The New World Center (Miami), E.J. Thomas Hall (Akron), Lyric Theatre (Lexington), The Kent Stage, Blu Jazz+ (Akron), Chris’ Jazz Café (Philly), Andy’s Jazz Club (Chicago), Cliff Bell’s (Detroit), WhyNot Jazz Room (NYC), Shapeshifter Lab, NightTown (Cleveland), The Bop Stop, Silvana, Club Bonafide, and many, many more.
Lucas has his own group, called the Tundra 4tet, comprised of Theo Walentiny, Nick Dunston, and Connor Parks. They play a wide range of jazz, blues, and freely improvised music.