Kalia Vandever Quartet

At the age of 31, Kalia Vandever is not only reimagining the sonic possibilities of the trombone but also the expressive landscape of ambient music. As a kid in Los Angeles, in an artistic house full of jazz records and a mother who was a Polynesian dancer, Vandever began playing piano soon after they started school. They were intrigued by the sound of the trombone the moment they heard Delfeayo Marsalis take a solo when they were eight. The instrument eventually led Vandever to Juilliard’s jazz program and, two years after graduating, their debut with their jazz quartet, In Bloom. Their work with that band evinced a youthful adventurousness, with sounds and structures that suggested they’d absorbed post-rock and experimental soundscapes, too. Indeed, during the pandemic, they built a pedal chain for the trombone, testing the ways it warped or augmented the tone during livestream concerts.

Those trials led directly to a new record deal and to their breakthrough solo debut, 2023’s We Fell in Turn. Layering multiple trombone lines and pillowing them in delay and echo, Vandever created short, sumptuous pieces that found an unexpected space between drone and the blues, their slow-motion melodies and slides between notes feeling like existential and relatable sighs. While opening for singer-songwriter Haley Heynderickx, Vandever decided to give some words they’d been testing in private a public try, augmenting the trumpet and piano with plaintive vocal lines about blame and grief. Those tests prompted 2026’s Mana, a short but profound LP that takes a different route to claire rousay’s lane of “emo ambient.” These are psalms to be sung against the encroaching dark, plaintive appeals to be handled gently. Vandever is an accomplished bandleader and collaborator, having toured with the likes of Lizzo and Harry Styles; their solo music is like a sanctuary, blessedly welcoming visitors inside three minutes a time.