Kalia Vandever (they/them) is a trombonist and composer living in New York. Praised by AllMusic as “a master musician and composer” and “a singular talent,” Vandever’s approach to the trombone is distinctive, defined by their sonorous tone and lyrical voicing. They lean into the challenges of the instrument and allow patience and melody to guide their process.

Vandever’s music has quickly and widely gained traction in the last few years despite the fact that their style has been consistently difficult to pin down, boasting a compositional scope ranging from the palatial modern jazz of their quartet work (notably featuring guitarist Mary Halvorson) to the synthetic, gauze-like droning ambience of their solo material, their compositional practice draws from their love of both songs and improvisation, creating a landscape of sounds that resonate in the body and hold the listener. This dexterity has not gone unnoticed, with The Wire asserting, “Vandever has never sounded more assured and in control of their many strengths.”

In Bloom, their 2019 debut album, and its followup Regrowth (New Amsterdam, 2022) swiftly established Vandever as a compelling bandleader in jazz circles—a group format they returned to on Another View (Northern Spy, 2025) and still engage in regularly in live performance. 

Recognized by NPR as part of the “new class of jazz artists pushing the music forward,” Vandever’s debut solo album We Fell In Turn (AKP Records, 2023) signaled a separate path being explored simultaneously. The album features solo works for trombone, voice and electronics, laying the groundwork for a new sound to be further developed. Mana, Vandever’s new album on Chicago’s International Anthem Recording Co, leans into that development: solo trombone filtered through a well-dialed pedalboard, manipulated live; spare piano as an intermittent anchor; electroacoustic interplay simultaneously echoing and transforming the long-note melodicism of Vandever’s melancholic brass work; head-on, unambiguous, and deeply personal lyricism.

After attending Juilliard, they began touring and performing internationally both solo and with their quartet. Their work as a side-person is expansive, performing with artists ranging from Shabaka, Joel Ross, and Immanuel Wilkins, to Harry Styles, Japanese Breakfast, and Moses Sumney. Vandever has been commissioned to write works for groups and individuals including Tesla Quartet, The Westerlies, Katherine Kyu Hyeon Lim, and Hats & Heels Duo and is also a founding member of tilt—a Brooklyn-based collective with Isabel Crespo Pardo and Carmen Quill.