As a conservatory-trained operatic singer and self-taught multi-instrumentalist, Kati brings a colorful and eclectic background to her songwriting.

 

Born in the small town of Peru, Indiana - the "Circus Capital of the World" and hometown of her composer cousin, Cole Porter - Kati grew up performing with acrobats, musicians and artists of the highest caliber. This environment nurtured her talent and instilled a passion for excellence in the creative arts at a very young age.

 

Kati’s family has been instrumental in shaping her creative personality.  She’s collaborated throughout life with her filmmaking younger brother.  She gained a sense of bohemian rebelliousness from her mother, an entrepreneur, film producer and correspondent for the BBC.  From her father - a general surgeon and trombone-playing band leader - came Kati’s love for traditional jazz that inspired her to form Los Angeles’ only all-female trad jazz band, The Belles of Bourbon Street.  Kati still plays banjo in one of the last surviving jazz clubs in the heart of the French Quarter in New Orleans with her father’s group, The Swampwater Stompers.

 

Grounded in evocative lyrics, Kati's uniquely rich and funky folk-pop rock sound has been compared to Brandi Carlile, Parliament Funkadelic, and Of Monsters and Men.