JULIE ZHU QUINTET

Vocalist Julie Zhu brings together legendary drummer Roy McCurdy, vibraphonist Jake Chapman, pianist Grant Heineman, and bassist Jesse Katz for a special evening at Birds of a Feather Jazz Lounge.

Active in Southern California and New York City, Julie is known for her warm tone, emotionally honest interpretations, and love of the Great American Songbook. She has performed at venues including Smalls Jazz Club, The Mint LA, and JZ Club in Shanghai, China, bringing an intimate approach to jazz standards while leaving plenty of room for improvisation and musical conversation. Beyond music, Julie is a Ph.D. candidate and educator in engineering at UCLA.

Roy McCurdy is a legendary jazz drummer best known for his decade-long tenure with the Cannonball Adderley Quintet. Over his remarkable career, he has performed and recorded with artists including Sonny Rollins, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Herbie Hancock, and many more. Los Angeles native Jake Chapman is a vibraphonist, pianist, composer, and songwriter who holds a B.A. in Music and Computer Science from Columbia University and studied jazz vibraphone at Juilliard. Grant Heineman, a graduate of Berklee College of Music and bandleader of the Beantones, is continuing his studies at USC. Jesse Katz, a graduate of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, has shared the stage with Danilo Pérez, Brian Blade, John Patitucci, and Maria Schneider and performed at festivals including the Detroit Jazz Festival.

Julie’s recording work includes a 2023 session at the historic Rudy Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey with drummer Joe Farnsworth. In 2025, she collaborated with drummer and songwriter Kyle Poole on a recording project for Splice at Sound Factory in Hollywood. She also curates and hosts a monthly Friday night jazz jam at Steep LA in Chinatown, creating a vibrant space for improvisation and musical connection within the Los Angeles jazz community.

Together, the Julie Zhu Quintet brings together five distinctive musical voices across generations of the jazz tradition for an intimate evening of vocal storytelling, spontaneous interplay, and fresh interpretations of beloved standards.