Kyle Hollingsworth is well versed in the art of the sit in. The jazz-and-funk-centric keyboard player is known for his improvisational chops and often welcomes special guests to the stage with his bands, The String Cheese Incident and the Kyle Hollingsworth Band. He hosts an all-star funk jam with friend George Porter, Jr., a founding member of The Meters, each winter in Boulder, Colorado, where Kyle lives with his wife and young daughter and pops up regularly at local shows to sit in with friends.
He’s also a multi-year veteran of Jam Cruise, a floating festival at sea, where he has established himself as something of an artist-at-large—jamming with everyone from folksy Nikki Bluhm and the Gramblers to fusion-saxophonist Karl Denson and Nigerian musician Femi Kuti.
“Although our styles might be very different, we all speak the same language of music,” Kyle says of how he approaches collaborating with fellow musicians. “We might hang out for a bit and find a few touch points that we have in common, then the important thing is to start with solid base and riff and explore on top of that foundation.