2025 Summer Solstice: Catbus Collective @ Saint Peter's

Join us on the plaza outside of Saint Peter's for the beginning of our annual "Jazz on the Plaza" series!

CATBUS COLLECTIVE

Mỹ Tâm Huynh (voice)

Jasper Dutz (woodwinds)

Peter Lin (trombone)

Brandon Choi (trumpet)

Kai Ono (piano)

Marty Kenney (bass)

Kobi Abcede (drums)

About Catbus Collective:

Catbus Collective is a seven piece jazz ensemble known for its unique re-imagining of Japanese anime, film and pop soundtracks. Founded by Jasper Shogo Dutz, the ensemble showcases the talent of AAPI musicians who share a collective interest in Japanese pop culture, fictitious lore and video gaming. Since their debut in fall of 2023, they’ve performed at numerous anime conventions, festivals, and venues including Kogaracon, Setsucon, Yukibana, Queens Public Library, Umbra, Wonderville, Red Pavilion, Clement’s Place, AAPI Jazz Fest, & Mid-Autumn Festival.

About Jasper Shogo Dutz:

Jasper Shogo Dutz is a multi-woodwind instrumentalist based in New York City, originally hailing from Los Angeles. In addition to playing freelance gigs in the NYC area, Jasper is the lead alto saxophonist in the Grammy-winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra directed by Arturo O'Farrill. He also leads his own quartet that blends Japanese folk influences with jazz, combining both his creative background and his heritage. Beyond performing, he serves as the artistic director for VGM Jam Sessions NYC, a role he has held since 2021. A graduate of the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, where he attended on a full tuition scholarship, Jasper has collaborated with renowned artists such as Nels Cline, Joel Ross, Lenny Pickett, Jon Batiste, and Ron Carter.

About Peter Lin:

Peter Lin is a Taiwanese-American trombonist, producer, and educator based in New Jersey/New York City. He’s performed as a trombonist for established venues and festivals, and has two albums under his name. He has performed with renowned artists including Slide Hampton, Ron Carter, Winard Harper, Charli Persip, Valerie Ponomarev, JD Allen, Jerry Weldon, and Radam Schwartz. He is the founder of Yardbird Entertainment, an audio, video, and livestream production company made by musicians, as well as the producer for the AAPI Jazz Fest.

About Tâm Huynh:

Mỹ Tâm Huynh (aka mitamu) is a multi-award-winning Vietnamese American composer, performer, and educator whose work bridges jazz, poetry, and Asian futurism. Rooted in improvisation and storytelling, her music explores identity, vulnerability, and decolonization. A graduate and current faculty member of the Manhattan School of Music, Huynh draws from Black American creative music and Vietnamese cultural memory. Her sonic landscapes are intimate and expansive—merging tradition, experimentation, and diasporic imagination to envision new futures through sound.

About Brandon Choi:

Brandon Choi is one of New York’s most unique brass voices, with a diverse accumulation of accolades that range from wins in the trumpet competition circuit, to collaborations with jazz luminaries such as Miguel Zenon, Ethan Iverson, and Ingrid Jensen, to performing video game and anime music at the highest level. Brandon’s brief participation in trumpet competitions saw wins at the International Trumpet Guild jazz improvisation competition (1st place, 2019), the World Trumpet Society jazz competition (1st place, 2020), and the Carmine Caruso jazz trumpet competition (finalist, 2021).

About Kobi Abcede:

Drummer and producer Kobi “Trenchfoot” Abcede, a.k.a !KOBI, brings propulsive rhythmic prowess and a jazz-tinged harmonic palette to any musical context from LA to New York. Having honed his skills as a first-call jazz drummer and a member of the creative music collective Momentum, !KOBI became an in-demand collaborator for artists across the five boroughs, including Duendita, Zinadelphia, and Madison Mcferrin. Based in NYC currently, !KOBI has caught the attention of the city’s music scene with his ability to not only swing relentlessly but also lay down a groove that will upturn the nostrils of the most seasoned hip-hop audiences.

About Kai Ono:

Kai Ono is a composer-pianist/singer-songwriter in Queens, NY. As a pianist, Kai commands a musical style that sways between the cathartic and the intimate, having collaborated with jazz musicians such as Sheila Jordan and Jay Clayton and currently touring with indie rock band Melt. As a composer, besides receiving Downbeat Magazine and ASCAP Herb Alpert awards, Kai’s music is published by Murphy Music Press and My Melodies. His writing is innervated by his neo-soul/folk influences beyond his classical/jazz writing, driven by his love for the marriage of compassion and intellectualism as well as singing with random people in a circle.

About Marty Kenney:

Marty Kenney is among his generation’s most versatile and in-demand bassists. Originally born and raised in Palmer, Alaska, Marty received his bachelor’s degree at the University of Northern Colorado. He relocated to New York City in 2012, where he completed his Master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music, studying under bassist Jay Anderson. Marty has performed with Art Lande, Billy Drummond, Rich Perry, Steve Slagle, Allan Harris, Rez Abbasi, Steve Wilson, Brian Krock’s Big Heart Machine, David Berkman, and the New York Standards Quartet featuring Tim Armacost and Gene Jackson. He continues to record and tour the world with established artists.

Social Links:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catbuscollective/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CatbusCollective