BIO

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Brazilian-American multi-instrumentalist and composer Lucas Ashby’s musical resume stretches back to his early childhood.  Born into a family of internationally touring musicians, Ashby brings to his projects a background in rhythms and melodies from South America, West Africa, India, Eastern Europe, American Jazz, & Hip Hop.  For the last 15 years, the resulting mosaic of sounds and textures has served as the bedrock of the career Ashby has built as a sideman, performing for 9 years as percussionist with nationally-touring afrobeat-funk powerhouse Big Mean Sound Machine, as well as such internationally-renowned artists as Brazilian national treasure Ivan Lins, 14-time GRAMMY winner Paquito D’Rivera, and world-renowned vocal jazz quartet New York Voices (including appearing on their 2007 GRAMMY award-winning album A Day Like This), Brazilian guitar virtuosos Rogério Souza (Duo Violão Brasil) and Diego Figueiredo, Miami-based Electro-soul outfit Elastic Bond, and Ghanaian highlife master Osei Korankye.  Lucas has also performed all over the US and around the world with his parents, Brazilian jazz vocalist Kenia and acclaimed trombonist and producer Jay Ashby (Paul Simon, Astrud Gilberto, Dizzy Gillespie, Nancy Wilson, & others).  As one of the composers and producers behind genre-bending 21st-century chamber ensemble Arco Belo, led by accordionist, pianist, and composer Simone Baron and featuring bass icon Mike Pope (Chick Corea, Brecker Brothers, David Sanborn), Ashby performed on and helped oversee the release of The Space Between Disguises, which debuted to significant critical acclaim. Since moving to the Washington, DC region in 2014, Lucas frequently performs locally with a number of regional acts including Rose Moraes, Taisha Estrada, Seán Heely Celtic Band, Pablo Regis de Oliveira, and Veronneau, among many others.  

 

Beginning in 2019, Lucas Ashby's Brain Trust brings together elements of postmodern jazz and psychedelic music from around the world into a new kind of performance.  The result is equal parts chamber ensemble and dance party, just as at home in the club, festival stage, and concert hall. As a 2020 Strathmore Artist-in-Residence, Ashby debuted several compositions for large ensemble that will feature on his upcoming debut album.  

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