New Jazz Underground
Saxophonist Abdias Armenteros, bassist Sebastian Rios and drummer TJ Reddick met at The Juilliard School and started playing in New York's parks during the 2020 lockdown. Their videos turned a new generation on to jazz, and their live show merges swing, blues and improvisation with hip-hop, pop and Afro-Latin music.
Three voices, one vision
New Jazz Underground
Described as "an innovative and ultra creative collective striving to establish themselves as a defining voice for the genre of jazz and beyond."
New Jazz Underground's videos draw listeners in with titles like "they can hate but we still swingin'" and "sad boy jazz." When audiences click, they find music steeped in both tradition and modernism, and many who wouldn't normally listen to jazz stay for it.
Releases such as the MF DOOM Suite, Harlem to Havana and cook/swing/work/relax show their reverence for jazz's icons and their drive to find a sound of their own. The trio won the 2023 DC JazzPrix™ and has been featured on NPR Music. Every video and recording is produced in-house. Their newest album is Hoodies.
Why we love this group
- Every time we see their live show, we leave feeling better about life.
- They perform as though their lives depend on it.
- Their intensity and intentionality on every note is second to none, and their original compositions are in a class of their own.
The musicians
The youngest member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. Juilliard graduate (MM '22).
2024 ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award winner and a longtime student of Ron Carter. Commissioned by Jazz at Lincoln Center to write a suite for the trio at the 2023 Caramoor Jazz Fest.
Juilliard graduate (BM '20). With Rios, he has played as a sideman for Jon Batiste, Sullivan Fortner, Emmet Cohen and ELEW, among many others.
A concert for new and longtime jazz fans
New Jazz Underground perform at major jazz festivals, performing arts centers, universities and jazz clubs across North America.
Selected presenters, 2024–2026
- Jazz at Lincoln CenterNew York, NY
- SFJAZZSan Francisco, CA
- Newport Jazz FestivalNewport, RI
- Monterey Jazz FestivalMonterey, CA
- Festival International de Jazz de MontréalMontréal, QC
- Vancouver International Jazz FestivalVancouver, BC
- Ottawa International Jazz FestivalOttawa, ON
- Calgary Jazz FestivalCalgary, AB
- Winnipeg International Jazz FestivalWinnipeg, MB
- Victoria Jazz FestivalVictoria, BC
- Savannah Music FestivalSavannah, GA
- Tucson Jazz FestivalTucson, AZ
- San Jose Jazz Summer FestSan Jose, CA
- Montclair Jazz FestivalMontclair, NJ
- Fox Jazz FestivalMenasha, WI
- BirdlandNew York, NY
- National Gallery of ArtWashington, DC
- Musical Instrument MuseumPhoenix, AZ
- Da Camera of HoustonHouston, TX
- Marcus Performing Arts CenterMilwaukee, WI
- Wharton Center for Performing ArtsEast Lansing, MI
- Merriweather Arts & Culture CenterColumbia, MD
- BRICBrooklyn, NY
- Gretna MusicElizabethtown, PA
- Sidney & Berne Davis Art CenterFort Myers, FL
- Kuumbwa Jazz CenterSanta Cruz, CA
- DazzleDenver, CO
- Yale UniversityNew Haven, CT
- University of FloridaGainesville, FL
- Florida State UniversityTallahassee, FL
Why audiences already know them
New Jazz Underground built their audience online, starting with videos filmed in their living room, and they produce every video themselves.
Their most-watched video on YouTube, a full suite built on the music of the late rapper and producer MF DOOM. Their Kendrick Lamar suite, Dying of Thirst, followed with more than 355,000 views.
Original suites
Long-form works that bring hip-hop's icons into the jazz tradition.
| The MF DOOM Suite | 573K |
| Dying of Thirst: The Kendrick Lamar Suite | 355K |
The "hoodies" sessions
Live sets filmed in New York, tied to their new album Hoodies.
| Live in Washington Sq Park (Vol. 2) | 306K |
| "23" Live in NYC (Vol. 1) | 97K |
Live From Emmet's Place
Their episode of Emmet Cohen's online concert series is the most-watched in the show's history.
| Vol. 119: New Jazz Underground | 533K |
The living-room videos
Where it started: short, playful clips filmed at home, like "they can hate but we still swingin'" and "sad boy jazz," that went viral and introduced the trio to new listeners.
YouTube view counts as of October 5, 2026. The Emmet's Place episode is on Emmet Cohen's channel.
Young artists teaching young artists
New Jazz Underground are only a few years older than the students they work with. Each member runs his own private studio, and together they have years of experience teaching students from middle school through college.
Bring New Jazz Underground to your stage
New Sound Arts can help you build a concert, residency or student workshop with New Jazz Underground for your season, festival or campus.
mike@newsoundarts.com
marie@newsoundarts.com