“I was immediately taken with what I heard from her. She found sonic spaces within the songs that I didn’t know existed and nestled right in, whether she was plucking out a bassline or using a bow to coax out a solo.”
-Michael Duck, The Morning Call
Kristen Jones joined ilyAIMY ostensibly just to add some sweet cello flavour to 2009’s CD “A Gift for Saint Cecilia“. But then she got stuck with us. Oh, that poor girl.
Kristen was already classically trained on cello when she discovered the steel pan at Oberlin College. She performed with steelbands in Trinidad, New York and the DC-metro area, and for over 10 years was an arranger and bandleader with Pan Masters Steel Orchestra. Now performing on electric cello – and focusing on more eclectic projects on both instruments – she brings an incredibly diverse musical background to ilyAIMY’s sound and even knows how to… like… write the music down and stuff.
When not playing with ilyAIMY, you can find her performing with other local acts – like Lulu’s Fate, Anthem Electric String Quartet, and more. She’s been nominated several times as “Best Contemporary Folk Instrumentalist” and “Best World Instrumentalist” by the Washington Area Music Association. You can keep up with Kristen’s other musical goings-on at kristenjonesmusic.com. She’s also a longtime jack-of-all-trades over at Takoma Park’s exotic instrument shop House of Musical Traditions, where she manages HMT’s internet presence and occasionally gets to exercise her Ethnomusicology degree.
Kristen’s gear:
Kristen performs with an NS Design CR4 electric cello (she’s also an official NS Design Artist!) – sometimes with a Zoom A1X4 effects unit – and records with an acoustic cello built by Daniel Foster, as well as a carbon fiber Luis & Clark. She also uses Incredibow carbon fiber/synthetic bows.
Also appearing on:
Lulu’s Fate: The Blackest Crow https://squareup.com/market/lulus-fate
We’re About 9: Future Pilot http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/wereabout98
Lea: Let You In http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/lea8
Mosno Al-Moseeki: Novella: A Love Letter To Culture Clash http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mosnoalmoseeki
David Potts-Dupre: They Speak At Night http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/davidpottsdupre
Lilt: Little Falls http://www.liltirishmusic.com/store.html
Kristen and rob are married and Live in Catonsville with a cat who is a liar, but they Love him anyhow.