September 2026 Featured Artist
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Mom by Day, Chanteuse by Night
An Interview with Kat Gang
Kat Gang
Photo Credit: Nathaniel Johnson |
Kat Gang is a jazz singer known for her smooth, expressive voice and effortless sense of swing. Born in Boston, she began her music theory training as a teenager at Berklee and then fell in love with the energy of New York City and went on to gain her BFA from NYU. Drawing inspiration from classic jazz traditions while adding her own modern flair, she brings warmth and sophistication to every performance. Kat has performed twice at the GRAMMY Awards with the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. She has also performed at various prestigious jazz clubs including Birdland, The Iridium, 54 Below, and numerous performing arts centers. Her new album BOSSA & BORDEAUX is a collection of acoustic jazz standards drawn from the romance of French chanson and the effortless sway of Brazilian bossa nova. Performed with understated elegance and emotional depth, the album moves like candlelight across a late-night café table: warm, wistful, and deeply human. Kat is known for her expressive phrasing, understated sophistication, and emotionally immersive performances. She cultivated a reputation for creating live musical experiences that feel both timeless and deeply intimate. |
When Kat Gang isn’t onstage in a sequined gown, singing sultry songs in a jewel-box of a supper club, she’s mom to three active young girls at home in Westchester County, New York. Between her two sets on a recent Sunday night at The Nines, a venue tucked above Acme on Great Jones Street in Manhattan, Carol Lippert Gray, associate editor, spoke with her about combining performing and motherhood.
Did you always want to perform?
I knew early on. I loved musical theater, being exposed to it from both my parents. They listened to Michael Feinstein and Barbra Streisand and all the Great American songbook.
What’s your training?
I did theater in high school and decided I wanted a specific [college] program, equal parts acting, singing and dancing. I wanted to be on Broadway. I found this great program at NYU at the Tisch School called Cap 21. It was exactly that: all three. You got a good music foundation, including music theory, and a good dance foundation.
Did you always want to perform?
I knew early on. I loved musical theater, being exposed to it from both my parents. They listened to Michael Feinstein and Barbra Streisand and all the Great American songbook.
What’s your training?
I did theater in high school and decided I wanted a specific [college] program, equal parts acting, singing and dancing. I wanted to be on Broadway. I found this great program at NYU at the Tisch School called Cap 21. It was exactly that: all three. You got a good music foundation, including music theory, and a good dance foundation.
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Music Video from Kat's Album Love and the Lack Thereof: "The Very Thought of You"
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Having studied various musical forms, what about jazz “sings” to you?
I used to get in trouble for changing the melodies of Broadway showtunes. I would use my ear to make up my own version of what I heard. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was improvising. I love jazz because the song is different every time you sing it. What’s your favorite song to perform? My favorite song changes from season to season in life, but currently it’s the French song C’est Si Bon. It’s joyous and bouncy and swinging. It describes the joy we experience when we take pleasure in the simple things in life. Your career path was interrupted.
My children’s younger years coincided with [COVID-19]. [This] was not a great time for musicians. We lost all our work overnight and weren't sure when and if it was coming back. I thought, I've got these kids and this family that I love. I have three girls. They are now 10, seven, and five. How do you balance career and motherhood? It's a good question. I don't have an answer. It's evolving. Every week it's different. I'm lucky because this year my kids all started school. It helps to have a supportive husband. I have a very supportive husband. We met making music. I used to have a band that worked every week at the Plaza Hotel. He was my bass player. His name is Phil Palombi. |
Phil and Kat Performing "Live" at Jazz Forum
Photo Courtesy: Kat Gang |
Kat Performing at Birdland
Photo Credit: Nathaniel Johnson |
At the time he was married to someone else. I was married to someone else. We have a Brady Bunch situation. He has two older kids from his first marriage. My oldest daughter is from a previous marriage. Then we had two together.
He's been through it. He's an expert. He's super chill. The best part is he's got my back. When the wheels come off the bus, he keeps it together. He's got more experience than all of us, and he's an incredible player. He had a whole storied career before, so I'm incredibly lucky. He was the one who said just try it. Why not see how you feel. If you're tired, we'll get a sitter or I'll take the morning shift or whatever. We'll make it work. Is it difficult to perform in a venue like this, where the audience doesn’t give you its full attention?
I was thinking about you asking that question. When you perform in this environment, the music is second, literally background. We are a part of [the ambience], but it's not like people are quiet. I’ve become desensitized to it. Last month, we played Smalls. That's a listening room. If I can have one or two gigs where they're there to hear me, and they're there to listen, [I’m happy]. I'm here for fun and for a paycheck. |
I know even though they might not be paying full attention, they're listening. Someone might hear something a different way or they might connect with you in a moment. That’s okay. I'll take it.
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You perform your new album BOSSA & BORDEAUX in Portuguese and French. Is there a common thread with the track selections on this new album?
The common thread throughout Bossa & Bordeaux is really the emotional landscape of the songs. French chanson and Brazilian bossa nova come from very different cultural traditions, but they share a deep sense of intimacy, longing, sensuality, and bittersweetness. I was drawn to the way both styles can feel incredibly personal and conversational, almost as if someone is quietly telling you a secret. Jazz connects with an audience in much the same way. Even if some do not understand the language? You don’t necessarily have to understand every word to understand the emotion behind it. A beautiful melody, the way a singer phrases a lyric, the tension of a harmony, the rhythm of a bossa nova groove — those things communicate on a level that exists beyond language. Music can make you feel longing even if you don’t know what the singer is longing for. For me, singing in French and Portuguese reinforces that idea. The audience may not understand every lyric, but they can still feel the story. They can hear the tenderness, the heartbreak, the sensuality, the joy. That’s one of the things I love most about jazz and about this album: It’s an invitation to listen emotionally. You don’t have to translate the words to understand the feeling. |
Click Album Cover to Listen to Parts of Tracks on Bandcamp
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Where do you find sanctuary?
I started swimming, which I love. I take a jazz dance class just for fun with a bunch of moms.
I live right on the Hudson River. As I get older, I find peace with water. I go down to the river and think about the symbolism of rivers throughout song and art history. You go there to find yourself. You go there to pray. [Singing] ‘I'll go down to the river to pray.’ It's a huge part of my everyday life.
I started swimming, which I love. I take a jazz dance class just for fun with a bunch of moms.
I live right on the Hudson River. As I get older, I find peace with water. I go down to the river and think about the symbolism of rivers throughout song and art history. You go there to find yourself. You go there to pray. [Singing] ‘I'll go down to the river to pray.’ It's a huge part of my everyday life.
Kat's Joyful Energy on Stage
Photo Credit: Patrick McMullin |
“To everyone who listened, supported, encouraged, and believed in this music along the way — thank you for giving these songs a place to land. Merci beaucoup and obrigado!” ~ With love, Kat Gang BOSSA & BORDEAUX |
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES:
September 6th ~ 7-10:30 p.m.
The Nines, NYC 9 Great Jones Street New York, NY Kat will be at The Nines playing with her all-star jazz quintet. September 15th ~ 7-10:30 p.m. The Nines, NYC 9 Great Jones Street New York, NY Kat will be at The Nines playing groovy songs from the record, French chansons and bossa novas. September 24th ~ 7:00 p.m. White Plains Jazz Festival Shiraz Kitchen and Wine Bar 80 Mamaroneck Avenue White Plains, NY |
