Lines in Motion: Nicole McCabe’s Groove-Driven Improvisation

Niclole McCabe. Photo: Charlie Weinmann

Saxophonist-composer Nicole McCabe is creating a space where club energy and improvisation don’t oppose each other—they enhance each other. Raised in Marin County and now a vital figure on Los Angeles stages and studios, she co-leads the electro-jazz duo Dolphin Hyperspace with bassist-producer Logan Kane, and she’s bringing that high-energy blend into SFJAZZ’s Joe Henderson Lab. (Ticket info can be found below.)

“I grew up in the Bay Area with access to a wide variety of incredible music across many genres, and I attended an amazing high school program that introduced me to jazz,” McCabe says. “I’ve been trying to blend it all into one thing.”

On the production side, her listening covers a wide spectrum. “I really love M.I.A., early hip-hop, and many different EDM artists. I do love Skrillex—I think he’s an incredible producer,” she says. “On the jazz side, I love Cannonball Adderley, Charlie Parker, Joe Henderson, John Coltrane… and more recently, Melissa Aldana, Immanuel Wilkins, and Joel Ross.” She also highlights musicians who straddle genres: “Louis Cole, Genevieve Artadi, Justin Brown—people who blend jazz and funk.”

Brazil also influences her phrasing. “There’s this really great album—Tom Jobim and Elis Regina—that was huge for me,” she says. “Sérgio Mendes, Tamba Trio… a lot of influence from Brazilian music as well.”

Despite all the synths, side‑chains, and spiraling textures, McCabe keeps her focus clear. “I think melodies are the most important part of any song,” she says. “When the composition and production get complex—especially in Dolphin Hyperspace—it actually helps me stay grounded in melody. I’m really trying not to add too much when it isn’t necessary.”

Dolphin Hyperspace grew from friendship and file-sharing. “The project started with me and Logan Kane—we’re the core,” she explains. “During the pandemic, we exchanged tracks: ‘Do you want to add something to this?’ We made a lot of music virtually, and when I moved to Los Angeles in June 2020, we kept collaborating. It became a fun outlet because we’re both into acoustic jazz; this felt different.” 

Their catalog reflects this dual identity: groove-driven tracks designed for movement and choruses, with plenty of space for experimentation. “Our songs are always about animals and small animals,” she laughs. “Our last album was called Mini Giraffe, so we’re sticking with that theme.” On “Minuscule Minnow,” McCabe aimed for “a really fun bossa nova kind of track,” while Kane “added the bridge sections—these crazy suspended‑chord groove moments. It was us blending those two ideas with a kind of shocking back‑and‑forth effect.” Louis Cole drums on the track: “He adds so much to it.”

Live, the duo leans into contrast. “I like creating fun lines over the bossa section—very standard 3‑6‑2‑5 territory—then getting a little crazier in the other sections,” McCabe says. Structures flex to fit the room: “Things change a lot when we play live—solos go longer or shorter, or we won’t solo at all on a particular tune. There are never super‑tight locks on those doors.”

The upcoming SFJAZZ event intensifies that energy. “We honestly play best in standing rooms, and I think this project works best in standing rooms,” she says. “It’s incredible that so many jazz institutions want to host it. Bringing this into a jazz venue and finding a way it works makes me feel more confident. When people are standing up and dancing, that’s how this music wants to be heard.” For the Lab show, they’ll add drummer Brian Richburg Jr. to boost the momentum.

McCabe’s parallel life in acoustic jazz is equally important. She studied at USC’s Thornton School of Music with Vince Mendoza, Patrice Rushen, and Russell Ferrante; she has become part of L.A.’s interdisciplinary scenes around labels like Brainfeeder, Leaving, and her home base Minaret Records. Her résumé is already full: a Dolphin Hyperspace release (Mini Giraffe) alongside the EP Orbit with beatmakers 10.4 ROG and Vooo; appearances with David Binney, John Escreet, Anna Butterss, Henry Solomon, Sasha Berliner, and others; awards including the Los Angeles Jazz Society’s Jeff Clayton Memorial New Note Award and the Keep an Eye International Jazz Award; and teaching at Cal State Northridge and in Los Angeles public schools through Musicians at Play and the Herbie Hancock Institute’s Jazz in the Classroom.

That acoustic project is heading for tape. “I have an acoustic record produced by Jason Moran that I recorded in New York in January,” she says. “It’s very different from Dolphin Hyperspace—contemporary jazz with a big emphasis on free improvisation. The album is called Color Theory, and I’m aiming for February 2026, with singles leading up to it.” Then comes the next Dolphin Hyperspace LP: “We just finished another record called Echo Location—we’re thinking April or May next year.” For listeners who want to support directly, she adds, “Bandcamp is great—but it’ll be on all streaming services.”

If you’re new to Dolphin Hyperspace, McCabe recommends that you come prepared to move. “It’s a dance-floor set,” she says of the Joe Henderson Lab performance, “and that room can absolutely hold it.” The project’s DNA—“improvisational heart of jazz with inventive electronic production,” as her team describes it—has already attracted a cross-generational audience that includes jazz enthusiasts, beat scene fans, and the merely curious. On stage, the duo’s high-energy interaction encourages a kind of listening that begins in the hips and ends with harmony lines you hum on your way home.

And if you catch “Mini Giraffe,” listen for the cartoon‑quick gait. “It has a lot of Latin influence and syncopation,” McCabe says. “We just try to sink into the groove.” Then—true to their ethos—she leaves space for surprise. “We think about live structure more now, but we still add solos wherever we see fit. The songs stay open.”

And for Dolphin Hyperspace’s upcoming show, “They’ll be in the mood—they’ll be ready to go after a long week,” McCabe says, smiling at the thought of a packed Friday‑night crowd. “That’s the goal!”

 TICKET INFO

Dolphin Hyperspace performs at the Joe Henderson Lab inside the SFJAZZ Center on Friday, October 17, with two shows at 7:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at sfjazz.org; more information about McCabe’s music and upcoming releases is available on her website and Bandcamp.