Drummer.
Band Leader.
Engineer.
Producer.
About
Virginia native Jack Kilby is an award-winning bandleader, engineer, producer, and drummer who plays “with a beat that acts as a business card.”
His sextet “Jack Kilby & the Front Line” released their debut album ‘Love Is A Song Anyone Can Sing’ in two volumes in 2018 and 2019. After charting nationally as high as #2 on the NACC and RMR Jazz charts, the album won back-to-back Wammie Awards for “Best Jazz Album” in 2019 for ‘Volume 1’ and 2020 for ‘Volume 2’. The album’s title track, written by tenor saxophonist Charles Owens, also won the 2020 Wammie Award for “Best Jazz Song.” The record was produced by Kilby & Carroll “CV” Dashiell III and mixed & mastered by Grammy-winning engineer Dave Darlington. "The Front Line” features legendary trumpeter John D’earth, tenor saxophone giant Charles Owens, and trombonist Elad Cohen with Kris Monson on bass.
In 2017, Jack began recording local artists at his home studio in Del Ray, Alexandria, lovingly known as “the Crab Shack.” What began with a laptop and two-input recording interface evolved into Crab Shack Music LLC, one of the most popular recording spots for the DMV area’s brightest young artists in genres from country to hip hop, jazz, and experimental fusion.
Jack Kilby graduated from T.C. Williams High School in 2007 and the University of Virginia in 2011 (B.S. Biology). In 2013, Kilby relocated to Queens, New York where he attended the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College and received his Masters of Music in Jazz Performance in 2015. There he studied with many world famous educators including Michael Philip Mossman, Antonio Hart, Dennis Mackrel, and James McElwaine while studying arranging, production, and drum performance.
Crab Shack Music
Record with Jack at the Crab Shack in Alexandria, VA
Jack Kilby & the Front Line
Kilby’s sextet was founded in New York in 2015 and inspired by his love for Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers. Their debut album ‘Love Is A Song Anyone Can Sing’ was released in two volumes in 2018 and 2019. ‘Volume 1’ won the 2019 Washington DC-area Wammie Award for “Best Jazz Album.” The record peaked at #2 on the NACC Top 30 Jazz Chart (12 weeks) and RMR Top 50 Jazz Chart (17 weeks) as well as spending 22 weeks on the Jazzweek Jazz Chart, peaking at #27.
“The music on the release is energetic and invigorating…There is an old-school crispness to each part of the instrumentation. While the music doesn’t “sound” like rock ‘n’ roll, it does sometimes have the bite or verve of rock music. It sounds like a celebration of the human spirit, which never goes out of style. This is a must-have album for all jazz fans.”
Dodie Miller-Gould, Lemonwire
“The creativity of this band is outstanding; everyone involved is technically skilled and speaks a wide-ranging language of jazz…Kilby has constructed a well-oiled large ensemble to carry out his spectacular ideas with panache… Love is a Song Anyone Can Sing certainly is a strong and meaningful debut by Jack Kilby and the Front Line.” (⅘ Stars)
Geannine Reid, AllAboutJazz.com
Love Is a Song Anyone Can Sing, Volume 1 & 2
“Jack Kilby and The Front Line’s new recording entitled “Love is a Song Anyone Can Sing” is a tour de force featuring a group of emerging young musicians who are genuine talents deserving much wider recognition and a timely message delivered by a gifted and capable messenger.
Mr. Kilby is a true keeper of the flame previously lit by jazz masters such as Art Blakey, Philly Joe Jones and Miles Davis. His brilliance on the drums in conjunction with his formidable skills as an arranger/producer/bandleader have resulted in a wonderful recording that marries creative and soulful emotion with technical excellence.“
Dennis Mackrel, Drummer, Arranger, Conductor, Count Basie Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All Star Big Band