Tag: Kenneth Blume

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Kiefer Shares Dreamlike “Memory Bomb” feat. Walter Smith III, Flanafi, and Shibo

Los Angeles-based acclaimed pianist and producer Kiefer Shackelford, a.k.a. Kiefer was raised in San Diego by parents, who were both aerospace engineers and keen pianists, who both influenced him in their own way: His mother taught him at a very young age how to read music and play piano, starting with simple Bach minuets. His father was a huge jazz head, and a fan big fan of Blue Note Records in particular. who released albums by Sonny Clark and Gene Harris.

Shacklelord would endlessly listen to Kind of Blue and after reading Miles Davis‘ biography when he was 13, he knew that he wanted to become a jazz musician. During high school, he studied jazz piano with a local teacher and went to attend UCLA, where Blue Note recording artist and legendary guitarist Kenny Burrell, who was head of the school’s jazz program, became one of his tutors throughout his studies.

After completing his studies, Shackelford signed to Stones Throw Records, where he quickly established his musical identity and gained attention with a series of releases including 2018’s Happysad, 2021’s Between Days and 2023’s It’s Okay B U. Adding to a growing profile, he has collaborated with Dr. Dre, De La Soul, Pete Rock, Anderson .Paak, Terrace Martin and a growing list of others. He’s also a member of the collective FATHERS with Ben “CARRTOONS” Carr, Nate Smith and producer Kenneth Blume, who released their self-titled debut on Blue Note earlier this year.

2026 will continue to be a busy year for the acclaimed pianist: His fourth album, and Blue Note Records debut, the Kiefer, Shibo, and CARRTOONS co-produced Memory Bomb is slated for a September 25, 2026 release. The album will feature guest spots from Tony Stone, Erick The Architect, CARRTOONS, Nate Smith, Walter Smith III, Cisco Swank, Relyae, Rae Khalil, Moonchild‘s Amber Navarn, Planet Giza, and more.

Long considered one of Los Angeles’ best kept musical secrets, Kiefer has been described as a musician, who doesn’t just play keys with his fingers, but his soul. He’s a truly gifted artist, who has actively redefined that sweet spot between jazz improvisation and hip-hop beat making through a distinctive musical style, which he calls “Over The Breaks,” which reaches new heights of creativity on Memory Bomb.

The acclaimed Los Angeles-based artist is a believer in embracing new inferences and new styles through collaboration with others — and that’s where the journey to his first Blue Note bandleader album began. His first priority was to get his two best friends — CARRTOONS and Shibo — to co-produce the album with him, as they completely understood his sound, his harmonic sensibility and both are extremely adept at drum programming. The innovation through collaboration mindset extended to the inclusion of a talented cast of vocalist, rappers and musicians in interesting combinations, The result was something new and exciting while still sounding like a Kiefer-led project.

The album’s title, Memory Bomb is a poetic and metaphoric way of saying a dream. For Keifer, there are three types of dreams/memory bombs, the sort you experience when you sleep, the wishful longing type and the ambitious type — and those themes populate the direction of many of the album’s songs. Throughout the album’s runtime, there is a lyrical feel with the album’s material telling a story. It’s wistful, poetic and groove-driven, centered around the sensation of being in a dreamscape. And because of the material’s improvisational moments, the story changes every time the listener listens to it.

The album will include the previously released “NewLevels NewDevils” feat. Tony Stony, Erick The Architect and CARRTOONS, and the album’s second single, album title track “Memory Bomb” feat. Walter Smith III, Flanafi, and Shibo. “Memory Bomb” is a meditative, almost wistful blend of bop-era jazz, jazz fusion and beatmaking that’s dreamlike and effortlessly soulful.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Kiefer Teams Up with Tony Stone, Erick The Architect and CARRTOONS on Soulful, Introspective “NewLevels NewDevils”

Los Angeles-based acclaimed pianist and producer Kiefer Shackelford, a.k.a. Kiefer was raised in San Diego by parents, who were both aerospace engineers and keen pianists, who both influenced him in their own way: His mother […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: FATHERS Live at Wonderland Park

FATHERS is a collective of acclaimed artists and producers, renowned for their jazz-rooted musicianship, their production acumen and their love of the possibilities one can create in the studio. The collective features:

Kenneth Blume, a producer formerly known as Kenny Beats, who has worked on efforts by Vince Staples, Denzel Curry, Rico Nasty, IDLES, Freddie Gibbs, Geese, Weezer and a long list of others, He has also invited Doja Cat, Thundercat and Skrillex to participate in viral, streamed concepts across both Twitch and YouTube.

Kiefer Shackelford, a keyboardist and producer best known as Kiefer. Shackelford’s own work has earned acclaimed for his uniquely atmospheric blend of jazz, electronic music and hip hop. As a collaborator and producer, he has worked with Terrace Martin and Anderson .Paak. He produced two tracks on .Paak’s Grammy Award-winning 2019 album, Ventura, including the album’s lead single “King James.”

Ben “CARRTOONS” Carr, a New York-based genre-blurring multi-instrumentalist and artist, who in addition to producer-led projects like last year’s Space Cadet has gained traction through his inventive socials, multiple NPR Tiny Desk Concert appearances and production work with George Clinton, Freddie Gibbs, Jadakiss, Usher, and Roy Ayers. With FATHERS, Carr takes up bass duties.

Nate Smith a highly-respect and influential drummer, songwriter and producer, who has collaborated with an impressive and eclectic list of artists including Michael Jackson, Brittany Howard, Jon Batiste, Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Childish Gambino, Vulpeck and a growing list of others. Earlier this year, Smith won two Grammy Awards for last year’s LIVE ACTION, a guest-packed effort that showcased his gifts as a conceptualist and as the fulcrum of an astonishing network of artists.

FATHERS core trio — Smith, Carr and Shackelford — can trace their origins back to 2023: Smith assembled the core trio as part of his residency at that year’s Montréal Jazz Festival. Tours of the States and Japan followed, where the trio further developed their chemistry as a working group. “We all write, we all play at a high level, and we’re pushing each other to be better,” says CARRTOONS. “So we know going into anything that there’s going to be an inspiration and a push from everybody else, so that hunger that we all have independently becomes this super-being when we get together.” 

The outfit’s self-titled full-length debut is slated for a Friday, July 10, 2026 release through Blue Note Records. Produced by Blume, the album was recorded at his Los Angeles-based Putnam Hill Studio in an impromptu two day recording session. And as a result, the material possesses the magical spark of spontaneity and serendipity, while fittingly showcasing the talents of three talented musicians vibing and pushing each other.

“I was 95 percent through building my studio, and I asked Kiefer if he could come by with a band and play some instruments,” Blume recalls. “We custom-built our recording console and hadn’t heard anything through it yet. So it was meant to be a test day to make sure the studio was up and running. Kiefer happened to be playing shows with Ben and Nate at the time, and in testing out the equipment we recorded these songs in 48 hours. Turns out the board works just fine.”

The album includes the previously creased “PEARL,” a bit of Bossa Nova-tinged jazz pop that channels Stan Getz anchored around a bubbling groove and a gently swaying and shimmering melody.

To celebrate the album’s release, the trio recently released a half-hour long performance and interview video that features the outfit’s core compositional and performing trio performing stripped down jazzier arrangements of their debut’s material shot at Wonderland Park. The live session showcases that material is equally underpinned by bop era jazz and J. Dilla productions and is rooted in the trio’s soulful musicianship and effortless simpatico. Throughout the session, each member of the trio intuitively knows when to lead and when to follow in service of the melody and the overarching song.

The stylized video was inspired by the Bill Evans Trio’s 1972 appearance on the TV show The Jazz Set and in some way it has a surreal, yet deeply cool air.