Kirk Kadish
Composer · pianist · ambient & jazz
Kirk Kadish is a composer, producer, and keyboardist based in Rapid City, South Dakota. He builds ambient soundscapes for deep listening and improvisational jazz that refuses a single lane. He started on an upright piano in Melvindale, Michigan, studied Music Theory at the University of Michigan (magna cum laude), and later earned a master's in Jazz Piano Performance from Towson University. Nearly 24 years as a U.S. Army musician took him from piano instructor at the Armed Forces School of Music to Sergeant Major with the United States Army Field Band, touring the world before retiring in 2013. His catalog stretches from the ambient landmark Drift (CNET Editors' Choice) and the Bill Evans homage Still Bill, through award-winning jazz with Kadish, Gagan & Bartlit (Still Here, Best Jazz CD, New Mexico Music Awards 2016), to long-form pieces and the Kadyś project, including the September 2026 Shadow Fall EP. He still premieres original jazz in the Black Hills and keeps SoundCloud as the listening hub for the full body of work.
"The trio delivered on that promise. I was not surprised to discover along the way that their premier album, Still Here, had won the New Mexico Music Award for Best Jazz Album this year... The album's nine tracks, all originals from either Kadish or Gagan, offer accessible mainstream [jazz]." — Mel Minter, Musically Speaking (2017)
"Composer and sonic observer creating long-form dream environments, reflective ambient journeys, and improvisational jazz tapestries." — Ranger Magazine
