Projects

Emily Kuhn Quintet

“[Kuhn’s quintet is] a small group whose sound is marked by a dusky, twilight-rendered intimacy.”

—Matt Collar, AllMusic

The Emily Kuhn Quintet features some of Chicago’s most creative improvisors: Meghan Stagl (piano/vocals), Erik Skov (guitar), Kitt Lyles (bass), and Gustavo Cortiñas (drums). The musicians in the quintet share a close musical relationship developed over a decade of collaborating frequently in various Chicago music projects. In 2023, they released their first album as a band, Ghosts of Us, described as “one of those late-night records to listen to with headphones, get lost for a while and escape the frenzy of the outside world” (El Economista). Since then, they’ve performed throughout the Chicago area and gone on several tours through the Midwest and Southeast (supported by the Luminarts Cultural Foundation and SouthArts Foundation), including festival appearances at Champaign Urbana Jazz Festival (2025; opening for Herbie Hancock), Stanford Jazz Festival (2023), Hey Nonny’s Women’s Jazz Festival (2022), and the Festival of New Trumpet Music (2021). Their upcoming album “Feathered Things” uses images of feathers, snow, fire, and flight to explore themes of hope and resilience.

Photo Credit: Grace Pisula (Gold Point Studio)

Helios is a chamber jazz ensemble led by trumpeter Emily Kuhn performing highly improvisational, expressive music. Featuring a string quartet, the band plays original music and arrangements that are rooted in jazz and weave between sounds from folk, popular, and classical musical traditions. Helios’ unique instrumentation lends itself to an emphasis on highly melodic, groove-based songs with lush harmonies, and the music is often inspired by the natural world. The band has appeared at venues including the Green Mill, Elastic Arts, and the Chicago Park District's Night Out in the Parks program. They are one of the two featured bands on Kuhn’s 2020 release, Sky Stories.