Shotgun Wedding Quintet
San Francisco has a storied background of organized crime. From the Mob ridden speakeasies of the prohibition era to the Nortenos y Suerenos that currently tug at the seams of the Mission District, the Bay Area underground has been home to every imaginable form of nefarious business over the course of the past century. It’s appropriate, then, that the Jazz Mafia form as a product of the same environment.

An elite team of instrumental outlaws, The Jazz Mafia has taken many shapes since its inception, the most notable of which is certainly The Shotgun Wedding Quintet. Forming in 2003, The Shotgun Wedding Quintet has worked to create an illicit blend of rap and jazz that’s rooted in tradition. Each member of the band is a multi-instrumentalist that uses a looping-technique to create a wall of sound as band members shift from instrument to instrument building continuous layers of music and rhythm. As a result, this 5-piece ensemble creates the sound of a 10 piece group that is equal parts big-band and boom-bap, paying homage to the art of improvisation both lyrically and instrumentally.

"What separates this quintet from [other groups] is the hugeness of its sound. [They] have what it takes to move the crowd."
– SF Weekly

"Classy, intricate jazz with down-and-dirty, working-class hip-hop."
– East Bay Express