Saxophonist Nelson Devereaux curates Sundays at Berlin in May. This week: Sonic Bliss.

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Friends since a spontaneous, chaotic, and dimly lit jam in a Berklee dorm room, saxophonist Nelson Devereaux and guitarist Asher Kurtz have knit a tight bond. More than 10 years after that first jam, the joyful duo will improvise together for a set at Berlin. To begin the evening, J. Hoard—who has been featured in groups including Chance The Rapper, Brasstracks, Kassa Overall, Meshell Ndegocello, and Jose James—will bring his earth-shatteringly incredible voice to Berlin for an exciting solo set.

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Minneapolis resident Nelson Devereaux is a saxophone and multi-wind instrument player who weaves old into new with exciting indie/instrumental pop sensibilities and dazzling technical abilities on multiple instruments. His latest record, Infinity, was released in November 2024 on the Brooklyn-based Youngbloods label. He recently completed a U.S. duo tour with Craig Finn in April.

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Asher Kurtz has played with Lenny Pickett and the SNL house band; performed original works at Lincoln Center in NYC and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC; played the Barbican in London with Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn; and traveled with diverse musical artists such as Terri Lyne Carrington, Kevin Garrett, and Yuna.

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J. Hoard is an NYC-based artist with gospel roots that inspired his tremendous love of all genres. His eclecticism yielded songwriting collaborations on Black Coffee’s Grammy-winning Subconsciously album and Chance the Rapper’s Grammy award–winning Coloring Book album. J. Hoard’s musical versatility is also demonstrated on albums by Brasstracks, Kassa Overall, Meshell Ndegeocello, Cultura Profetica, José James, and Endea Owens. Whether he’s singing hip-hop or Hammerstein, onstage is where J. Hoard shines best. In one performance, his jazz harmony–informed, gospel-raised, rock-influenced, classically instructed—sincerely one of a kind—voice makes clear J.’s intent to connect to the audience and ensure whatever story is sung sounds tailor made.

“J. Hoard, an exuberantly gifted young vocalist and songwriter who treats affirmation as an art form, has lately been leaving bread crumbs all over the New York City scene, collaborating with artists in jazz, rock, soul and electronic music.” – Giovanni Russonell, New York Times

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This show is presented by Minnesota Public Radio's The Current.