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Kitty Kalriess

Collector and Selector of Soul, Jazz, World Music, and More

About Me

Karen Kalriess, or “Kitty” the Disc Jockey, is a vinyl DJ, radio show host, playlist curator, and musician from New York City. She has been an audio engineer and designer, a foley artist, a vocal coach, musician, and voiceover artist, and years ago began spinning soul 45s at a small bar near her home. This led her to hosting streaming radio shows on Makerparkradio and The Face Radio. Her shows have garnered several accolades, including Best Digital Music Program (New York Festivals Radio Awards) and Best Audio Production (The Communicator Awards). Mild-mannered college administrator by day, music junkie by night, Kitty not only collects and spins records, but teaches newbies to the field. From PA system set up to speaking and interviewing skills for radio, she finds joy in educating new cohorts of DJs- no matter their age! Other extra-curriculars include participating on the juries awards and grants, and writing about music. Really, all she wants to do is hang out with her bass-playing partner Tim, her wonder dog Comet, and dig some music. Kitty's second love is gardening, and looks forward to a new project in which she interviews musicians that are gardeners. Also, she can be spotted annually at the Montreal Jazz Festival, digging the sounds.

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My Jazz Story

I love jazz because...I didn’t arrive at jazz all at once. For me, like with many people, it comes in waves. It started with doo wop. There was something sacred about that simplicity: a street corner, a melody, and the human need to belong. Then came my passion for 60s soul. The groove deepened and the lyrics were more personal and straight forward, and jazz could be heard in the background. From there, I found bop. Suddenly, the rules bent. Solos felt like thinking out loud. The music demanded attention. It was conversation, risk, intellect, wit, and a broadening of the storytelling of American music. I realized music could argue, laugh, interrupt itself, and land on its feet. Afro jazz widened the horizon. Rhythm wasn’t just timekeeping — it was ancestry. It felt circular instead of linear. The music hit differently. Lately, I have been diving into world sounds, and searching for discs where the genres blend I listen to all jazz now — whether it swings, free-floats, grooves, fractures, or whispers — I hear a little bit from each of my favorite tracks...doo wop’s harmony, soul’s testimony. I love jazz because it holds everything I’ve loved before — and still leaves room for what I haven’t heard yet.