Nu Deco Ensemble

The Nu Deco Ensemble blurs genres with their eclectic, multi-disciplinary orchestral performances. Focusing on works by living composers and songwriters, they are best known for their collaborations with pop, indie, jazz, hip-hop, R&B, and classical musicians, among them Macy Gray, Jacob Collier, and Ben Folds. Their 2019 eponymous debut album combined both instrumental compositions and re-envisioned songs, including two appearances by indie pop singer/violinist Kishi Bashi on orchestrated versions of his songs. In 2021, the ensemble released collaborative live sets with jazz pianist Aaron Parks and alt-country singer Larkin Poe.
Formed in Miami, Florida in 2015, Nu Deco Ensemble was started by conductor Jacomo Bairos and composer Sam Hyken, both graduates of Julliard. The full ensemble can include over 40 players, including woodwinds, brass, strings, harp, piano, keyboards, electric guitar and electric bass, percussion, and drum set.
The group made their full-length recording debut with 2019′s Nu Deco Ensemble. It included collaborations with Kishi Bashi, rapper/singer Danay Suárez, Spam Allstars, and composers Nick Omiccioli and Andy Akiho. In August 2021, they issued an EP, Live from Miami, with Aaron Parks, following it a month later with the full-length Paint the Roses: Live in Concert, a collaboration with Larkin Poe. ~ Marcy Donelson