ABOUT KAI

Originally from the the beautiful coast of southeastern Massachusetts, USA, jazz singer and recording artist Kai Hoffman has been resident since 2008 at Ronnie Scott’s, one of the oldest jazz clubs in the world, with her fabulous swing and jump jive band, Kai’s Cats. Whilst swingin’ in the New Year – 2010! - at Ronnie’s Bar with the Cats, Kai was invited to come and join Ronnie Scott’s best band winner Ray Gelato and his Giants on stage in the Club downstairs – and “Hey Boy! Hey Girl!” was born. This brand new show, featuring Ray Gelato, Kai Hoffman and the Ray Gelato Giants, celebrates the magic of the boy girl duets – a concept which gained huge popularity with great artists including Louis Prima and Keely Smith, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.
 

Along with her jazz club appearances, Kai also enjoys a busy schedule of performances at London’s premier lindy hop swing dance clubs and festivals with Kai’s Cats – including the 100 Club for Monday night’s long-running ‘Stompin’ for the London Swing Dance Society and Jitterbugs Lindy Hop Club near Marble Arch, the City of London Festival and the Twinwood Glenn Miller Festival. It was because of Kai’s Cats that she started learning the dance moves herself – and discovered a fantastic hobby which also (luckily!) burns loads of calories.. since her other favourite hobby is cooking! Click here for Kai’s Cats website.
 

Having originally trained as a classical musician, Kai has also enjoyed a successful career as a French horn player, and has played with musicians including Nigel Kennedy, Jamie Cullum, John Dankworth, Cleo Laine, Phil Woods and comedian Bruce Forsyth, as well as with orchestras including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Kai studied at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne, Germany, and the Royal College of Music in London.  

Kai’s bands range from a duo of vocals and piano up to the Kai’s Cats sextet, performing from a repertoire of hundreds of songs, including swing and Latin jazz standards, jumpin’ jive, rock and roll and pop. Click here for samples from Kai’s songlist.  For more information on Kai’s jazz bands, click here, and for Kai’s Cats own website, click here.

home    about kai    kai's cats & other bands    corporate events    weddings    gigs    listen    gallery    faq    testimonials    contact

photography & website design by chris huning