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Kiefer brings an awareness cloud to Taipei crowd

The mix of Hip Hop & electronic beats with Free Form Jazz was a welcome palate cleanser to everyday life

LiFTED | Marcus Maurice | 13 Jun 2024


As a general rule of thumb, if a friend with eclectic taste invites you to see a band you’ve never heard of, but they have a Tiny Desk Concert and are related to the Stones Throw record label, always say yes. This happened on Wednesday, June 12 as Melting Part presented the Kiefer Trio live, which was much more than just three Jazz musicians playing Free Form Jazz. Instead, it was an encouraging and warm show that ended with everyone smiling.

As soon as the doors opened, Mr. Kloud got the Wednesday night party people in the right mood by playing Jazzy and Funky 45s including the crowd favorite ‘Ring Ring’ by De La Soul in the outer area of The Wall. WADE DAO held down hosting duties by keeping the flow flowing. Soon, people were gently persuaded to head to the concert venue where NOD TOWN opened up. The group, consisting of WADE, Kool Klone, Rodionn, and _tarolin, played LoFi beats and held it down while the crowd showed love and gave a lot of head nods. The highlight of their performance was when Da Rumors, a five-piece B-boy outfit jumped on the stage and entertained with poppin’ and lockin’, while the beatmakers made them move.

After a slight intermission, Kiefer came out with a tight curl and in a onesie, and introduced the trio with Cameron Thistle on bass and Myles Martin on drums. For someone with zero expectations, the incredible Jazz mixed with hints of J. Dilla, Slum Village, and Roy Ayers felt like a refreshing palate cleanser to everyday life. Songs like ‘Montara’, ‘Socially Awkward,’ and ‘Everybody Loves the Sunshine’ were 10-minute Jazz jams filled with soul, drum breaks, and music that gets thrown off-kilter until they bring it right back to the pocket.

At the end before dropping his final song, ‘Be Encouraged,’ Kiefer explained that shows are the best when both the band and the audience have an awareness cloud together meaning that the band is feeling the crowd and the fans are in the moment with the band. The awareness cloud was thick with this one as people left The Wall knowing they had just seen something unique and extraordinary in Taipei.

Check out Kiefer’s Tiny Desk Concert below for some more palate cleansing.