Chicago native saxophonist and composer Nate Spratford relocated to Nashville in 2023 to study jazz performance and composition with Jeff Coffin at Vanderbilt, and quickly turned heads in the city’s tight-knit jazz scene as an empowered young improviser. He has played at Nashville venues such as City Winery, Rudy’s Jazz Room, SoHo House, Americano Lounge, Urban Cowboy, and Analog at Hutton Hotel. Through Vanderbilt, he has brushed paths with jazz luminaries such as Wadada Leo Smith, Jonathan Barber, John Fedchock, and Sean Jones. Nate has shared the stage with Jeff Coffin, Rod McGaha, Jeff Bradshaw, Ari Hoenig, and numerous Nashville-based jazz artists. He has studied primarily with Coffin and Chicago saxophonist Nate Lepine, while also receiving instruction from former Miles Davis band saxophonist Bill Evans and NEA Jazz Master George Coleman. He was also recently named a semi-finalist in the 2025 Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition.

Nate Spratford - alto saxophone
Kevin Shinksie - tenor saxophone
Isaiah Cross - piano
Lucas Giordano - bass
Danny McGonegle - drums

Hot Club Gypsy Jazz Thursdays; Rudy’s French Connection

Every Thursday we honor our New Orleans and French roots and Rudy’s comes alive with a variety of small groups in the style of gypsy jazz swing. We bring you music inspired by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli with "Hot Club" gypsy jazz swing. Known for fierce tempos and effortless improvisation, our Hot Club Gypsy Thursdays are sure to entertain, inspire, and bring you back to some authentic "jazz manouche" with groups either led or curated by New Orleans LA native Brook Sutton.

There’s no better place to chill, cozy up and relax after work. Imbibe French Quarter inspired cocktails or a glass of Côtes du Rhône, and enjoy some gumbo and beignets, while listening to the rhythm and mood of hot club jazz in Nashville’s most intimate and romantic room.

Pianist Bruce Dudley, featuring J. Kyle Gregory on trumpet, with Jack Aylor on bass and Marc Widenhofer on drums.

Bruce Dudley is a Steinway Concert Artist and has been performing jazz piano for over 40 years on concert stages, in clubs, and private residences throughout North and South America. He specializes in the Great American Songbook, as well as in the rich history of American jazz styles, from Ragtime and Stride to Modernism, Post Modernism, and performance of original music. In addition to his work as a solo artist, he leads a trio, quartet, and larger ensembles, with horns and/or strings, while also enlisting the award winning voice of his wife, Sandra Dudley. An active educator, Dudley has presented clinics across Canada, the United States, and in Colombia, South America. His recordings as a leader include DPSW Quartet - Live at the Cave (2019), The Solo Sessions (2012), Mostly Monk (2010), and Semblance (1997). Dudley has also performed with artists Aretha Franklin, Crystal Gayle, Nelson Riddle Orchestra, Herb Ellis, Randy Brecker, Little Anthony and the Imperials, the Ink Spots, and has played keyboards for over 35 touring Broadway shows, including Beautiful, Wicked, Jersey Boys, Guys and Dolls, Grease, Fiddler on the Roof, Legally Blonde, among others.

Bruce Dudley has published articles for Downbeat magazine and presented scholarly research at conferences in the Netherlands, Canada, and the United States. His book 25 Piano Etudes in Idiomatic Styles was published in 2021 by Keuka Waters Music.

Dudley is Associate Professor of Music at Belmont University. He has a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Colorado, a Master of Music in Jazz Performance from the Eastman School of Music, and a Bachelor of Science in Music Business and Technology from New York University.

"Dudley’s well-schooled piano style is guided by dominant but subtle right-hand figures that galvanize one of the most cohesive trios in town." THE NASHVILLE SCENE

"Dudley, whose fluent lines jet around the keyboard, absorbing motifs into the stream, without a split second of hesitation, at any point of rhythm in the bar, are stunning to listen to…" HALIFAX CHRONICLE HERALD

"Dudley plays the piano with such grace and authority that he has quietly become the pianists that other pianists go to hear." HOUSTON POST

"As the leader, Dudley set the evening’s tone with a supple, rich blend of assertive melodic statements, delightful accompaniment, first-rate phrasing, counterpoint and harmonizing." Ron Wynn - ArtsNash

Dr. J Kyle Gregory was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and grew up in Bloomington. After more than 20 years in Italy and China, Kyle and his wife, Kim, moved to Nashville, where Kyle participates in the growing jazz scene. He also continues to perform and teach jazz all over the world. Kyle studied music performance and education at Berklee College of Music, Indiana University, and the University of Northern Colorado, completing his doctorate in 1995. In 1991, he became a Fulbright Scholar, conducting a year of pedagogical research in Hungary, exploring innovative methods for teaching improvisation.

Kyle has performed and taught throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. He has performed with numerous internationally known jazz and commercial artists, including Paul Motian, Vincent Herring, the Mingus Dynasty Big Band, The Temptations, and Liza Minelli. He continues to create new music with European jazz masters Paolo Birro, Salvatore Maiore, Roberto Dani and Peo Alfonsi, along with his new jazz friends in Nashville. Kyle has recorded over 50 albums with various artists and independent labels globally, including three albums as leader/composer: Tongues of Fire, Be Still and Know, and World Downside Up, which can each be found on Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube.

Kyle helped co-found and currently leads the international arts non-profit Nexus. Nexus shapes shared encounters with the arts that inspire life-opening conversations. Contributors currently reside in Italy, Spain, Germany, France, England, Holland, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, USA, Canada and China. Nexus welcomes all kinds of people, from varied cultures, ages, backgrounds and beliefs. We host in-person and online global events open to anyone interested in generously contributing their unique story and perspective to our collective learning about living. Kyle also co-hosts the official podcast of Nexus, Opening Life Podcast.

The Geoff Pfeifer Quartet, gritty, edgy, the real deal NYC style jazz. Saxophonist Geoff Pfeifer brings some of Nashville's top jazz cats out, and you'll be sure to feel the energy. Playing a mix of original material and Wayne Shorter tunes.

Geoff Pfeifer, a Nashville based musician and composer, has been living and performing in Nashville since 2005. Geoff studied saxophone with Ted Nash and Ralph Lalama and composition with Mike Holober and Jim McNeely. He is a saxophonist and arranger with the R&B band Chubby and The Dots and plays the 2nd Tenor Saxophone chair in The Establishment Big Band. Geoff has shared the stage with David Liebman, Jim McNeeley, David Amram, Chico O’Farrill, Arturo O’Farrill, Frank Kimbrough, Ben Allison, Michael Blake among many other musicians.