Kalia Vandever

Kalia Vandever is a Grammy-winning trombonist, composer, and instructor based in Brooklyn, New York. Their approach to the instrument is defined by lyric improvisation and distinct sonorous tonalities. A first-call session and touring musician, they've worked with everyone from Harry Styles and Demi Lovato to Joel Ross and Immanuel Wilkins. In Bloom, their 2019 debut, won universal critical accolades. The solo leader debut, 2023's We Fell in Turn, offered original works for trombone, voice, and electronics. November 2025's Another View, Vandever's Northern Spy debut, featured a quartet that included Mary Halvorson, Kanoa Mendenhall, and Kayvon Gordon across five circular compositions. 2026's Mana offered solo trombone filtered through a pedalboard and manipulated while paired with spare piano for seven tracks of sometimes placid, sometimes disquieting atmospheres, emotively augmented with unambiguous, and sung deeply personal lyrics.