Surprise Chef, an Australian instrumental jazz-funk quintet, performs live at Quartyard.
Surprise Chef play Quartyard on Sunday, November 1, at 7 PM. They're a quintet from just outside Melbourne, Australia, and this is an instrumental show—no one's singing, just the band playing.
Their sound is built on mood, with arrangements that use time and space to build soundscapes. They pull from 70s film scores, the funkier side of jazz, and hip-hop samples, which they call "moody shades of instrumental jazz-funk." The band formed in a home studio in 2017, and they've cited the "tyranny of distance" as a key influence on how they see things. Their first two albums, All News Is Good News and Daylight Savings, brought them to every corner of the globe, and they're now signed to Big Crown Records.
Their fourth album, Superb (2025), earned widespread international acclaim and led to their most extensive touring to date, with headline shows across Australia, Asia, North America, the UK, and Europe—including sold-out dates in Los Angeles, London, and at the Sydney Opera House. They've also moved into film scoring, premiering a live score for the Australian classic Wake in Fright at the Melbourne International Film Festival.
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It's a Sunday night show at Quartyard, 1301 Market St, San Diego, CA 92101, starting at 7 PM.
