Formed in 2010 and led by saxophonist De'Sean Jones, KNMDK (Knomadik) is a powerhouse collective of pure animalistic creativity. By slipping between a multitude of influences and genres including hip hop, rock, jazz, metal, electronic, and R&B, KNMDK conveys a sonically visceral narrative that is as captivating as it is exhilarating. This is a collective mentality as much as it is a collective of musicians. Their latest record, Knomadik Reverence, charted at #11 on the Billboard jazz charts.

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A prodigy on tenor sax, De'Sean Jones participated in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's civic jazz program, attended the Detroit School for the Fine and Performing Arts and the prestigious Oberlin Conservatory. He also studied under renowned jazz bassist Rodney Whitaker both through the DSO and Michigan State University.

His mentors entered his life early, leading him into the folds of Detroit’s weighty jazz scene at the age of 15. As a teenager Jones played with such notables as the late-great Gerald Wilson, Donald Walden and Lawrence Williams. But it was Detroit jazz icon, Marcus Belgrave that left the deepest imprint on his musical soul.

“Marcus is the reason I became a musician,” De’Sean says of the late- great trumpet player. Belgrave became a second father to De’Sean; his musical father. He brought him into the world of jazz that would be his home, his familiar place, into adulthood, even as he ventured out into other areas of musical experimentation. The two even engaged in long, sometimes harsh conversations that were rarely about music, but rather about life. “He was much more than a force from the bandstand,” says De’Sean. “He was my role model. He helped groom me into a man.”

On his newest project, the release of “Knomadik Reverence” by the De’Sean Jones Septet, De’Sean pays homage to his spiritual beliefs and to those who inspired him as a student, in particular on the cut “Solomon Da Wise,” which he wrote and dedicated to Belgrave and early mentor, Solomon Parham.

The first release for the DeSean Jones Septet on the Detroit Music Factorylabel, “Knomadik Reverence” is a collection of all original tracks that ambles on the adventurous side of jazz, but not without high energy.

• https://www.detroitmusicfactory.com/artists/desean-jones
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqnMz_YfTJo&list=PLgdhVW1jILGg7D8be32ca3rLe1idCzBoH
• https://www.facebook.com/1deseanjones/