Haruka Kikuchi is one of the city’s most dynamic horn players, engaging audiences with her musicality, stage presence, and expertise on the slide trombone. Kikuchi was born in Japan, loved listening to all kinds of music, and excelled on piano and violin, but had her “aha” moment when she heard a recording of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. She picked up the trombone, mastered it, and moved to New Orleans in 2014. She was welcomed with open arms, and is now a fixture on the trad jazz scene, playing with the Shotgun Jazz Band, the Shake ‘Em Up Jazz Band, the Preservation Hall All-Stars, Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers, and myriad other performers, including her husband, pianist Yoshitaka “Z2” Tsuji.  She has toured the world and performed at prestigious festivals, and earned a Grammy nod for playing on the Cha Wa album “SpyBoy.” She is also a busy record producer, with a 2020 album of her own out, “Japan: New Orleans Collection Series.”