Eli Leder Trio Featuring Chris Coles

Sat, Aug 09

Bassist and composer Eli Leder brings his trio for their BLU Jazz+ debut, featuring local legend saxophonist Chris Coles! Doors: 7:00pm Show: 8:00pm Tickets: $20 General Admission Eli Leder leads an exciting young trio that has made a niche in the Cleveland jazz scene. Eli met pianist Liam Speaks and drummer Stix Baker through the Tri-C JazzFest Academy precollege program, and they have all been both friends and collaborators ever since. They have had notable performances at the BOP STOP, Maltz Performing Arts Center (opening for bassist Christian McBride), and the recent 2025 Tri-C JazzFest. This will be one of their last performance until the winter break, and their first performance with their shared mentor Chris Coles, so this will be a show you do not want to miss! Eli Leder is a bassist, arranger, and composer from the Cleveland area. He currently studies Jazz Bass Performance at William Paterson University, 20 miles outside New York City. There, he has the opportunity to study under seasoned NYC professionals, most notably program director Bill Charlap and veteran bassist Marcus McLaurine.  Eli treats music as exploratory, searching for new sounds and considering all genres. You may catch him playing Baroque string music, bluegrass, 2010s pop, and straight-ahead swing all in one week. He synthesizes all of his experiences into both his bass playing and writing.  Liam Speaks is a multi-instrumentalist and self-taught producer/composer from Cleveland, currently studying Contemporary Music & Digital Instruments at Ohio University. He has honed in on his jazz piano skills from a young age, and is currently a part of several musical groups that span from jazz to fusion to rock. Apart from piano and bands, he composes/produces original alternative music under the name Voxglove, the musical space that’s most his own. Nehemiah Stix Baker is a prodigious 19-year-old musician from Northeast Ohio, captivating audiences with his exceptional drumming, composition, and leadership skills. Emerging from Cleveland’s vibrant music scene, Stix has rapidly established himself as a rising star in the music world. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, saxophonist Christopher J. Coles is based in the Greater Akron area. He serves on the faculty of the University of Akron as Assistant Professor of Practice in Jazz Studies. Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in performance from Youngstown State University, where he studied extensively with James Umble, Kent Englehardt and David Morgan and a master’s degree in performance from the University of Akron. At the 2015 Banff Workshop for Jazz and Creative Music, Chris had the distinct honor of studying with many influential jazz pioneers, including Vijay Iyer, Mark Turner, Imani Izuri, Tia Fuller, Billy Hart, Ingrid Jensen, Zakir Hussain, Somi, Vosany Terry and Miles Okazaki, among others. Chris was a winner of the 2017 Knight Foundation Arts Challenge in Akron, Ohio for his composition “Nine Lives.” “Nine Lives” was written in 2015 in memory of the nine lives lost at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. This work is about 40 minutes and features other art forms such as dance, animation and spoken word.