Lucas Kadish is a NYC based jazz guitarist, composer, and teacher. Born and raised in northeast Ohio, Lucas fell in love with the guitar at a young age. Around then he began to acquire real world experience, sitting in with bands on the local scene. Soon after, Lucas began to lead his own projects, performing in bars and venues around Ohio. Around this time he found his second love: the drums. "Rhythm is a tremendous force in my life and my music." Lucas’s original music grows out of the jazz and blues tradition, with influences from classical and freely improvised music.
Lucas has performed alongside artists such as Les McCann, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Braxton Cook, Jonathan Barber's Vision Ahead, George Kontrafouris, Aaron Burnett, Dominick Faranacci, and many more. He's also had the pleasure of working on contemporary's projects such as Arta Jēkabsone, Sasha Berliner, Kweku Sumbry, Alden Hellmuth, Tommy Lehman, Theo Walentiny, Nick Dunston, and Daniel Berkey. He’s led tours of his own music nationally and internationally. He has performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Bern Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Ventspils Groove Festival (Latvia), Uzutrakio Vakarai Festival (Lithuania), Winnipeg TD Jazz Festival (Manitoba, Canada), Kennedy Center Millennium Stage (D.C.), Tri-C Jazz Festival (Cleveland), Rubber City Jazz Festival (Akron), New World Stage (Miami), Jazz at Lincoln Center's Appel Room, and many other venues and clubs around the world. He has also performed at numerous venues in NYC such as The Blue Note, Smalls Jazz Club, The Jazz Gallery, Cornelia St. Cafe, Nublu, Baby's All Right, Café Bohemia, Ornithology Jazz Club, The Owl Music Parlor and many more.
In his formative years Lucas discovered a deep love for all sorts of music. In his late teens he began studying and playing with Bob Fraiser, Theron Brown, Dan Wilson, Bobby Selvaggio, and many other staples of the scene. By graduation he was 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 Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Residency for composition. There he worked and studied under Jason Moran, Eric Harland, Carmen Lundy, JD Allen, Andre Hayward, Cyrus Chesnut, and Eric Revis. Lucas is a graduate from the New School for Jazz.
Lucas has performed alongside artists such as Les McCann, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Braxton Cook, Jonathan Barber's Vision Ahead, George Kontrafouris, Aaron Burnett, Dominick Faranacci, and many more. He's also had the pleasure of working on contemporary's projects such as Arta Jēkabsone, Sasha Berliner, Kweku Sumbry, Alden Hellmuth, Tommy Lehman, Theo Walentiny, Nick Dunston, and Daniel Berkey. He’s led tours of his own music nationally and internationally. He has performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Bern Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Ventspils Groove Festival (Latvia), Uzutrakio Vakarai Festival (Lithuania), Winnipeg TD Jazz Festival (Manitoba, Canada), Kennedy Center Millennium Stage (D.C.), Tri-C Jazz Festival (Cleveland), Rubber City Jazz Festival (Akron), New World Stage (Miami), Jazz at Lincoln Center's Appel Room, and many other venues and clubs around the world. He has also performed at numerous venues in NYC such as The Blue Note, Smalls Jazz Club, The Jazz Gallery, Cornelia St. Cafe, Nublu, Baby's All Right, Café Bohemia, Ornithology Jazz Club, The Owl Music Parlor and many more.
In his formative years Lucas discovered a deep love for all sorts of music. In his late teens he began studying and playing with Bob Fraiser, Theron Brown, Dan Wilson, Bobby Selvaggio, and many other staples of the scene. By graduation he was 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 Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Residency for composition. There he worked and studied under Jason Moran, Eric Harland, Carmen Lundy, JD Allen, Andre Hayward, Cyrus Chesnut, and Eric Revis. Lucas is a graduate from the New School for Jazz.