KK Alese	Brian Braggs

Through their role as emcees, Caymanian luminaries Karen “KK Alese” Edie & Brian Braggs will entertain the crowd at the sixth annual Cayman Jazz Fest, December 3-5. Each emcee has carved their name in the music and entertainment industry, and accepting the role of emcee will be a smooth and natural transition.

Karen Edie, who performs and records under the artist name “KK Alese”, is easily one of the most celebrated singers in the Cayman Islands. She made her mark on the Caribbean music scene in 2008 when her first widely- released single “Move”, enjoyed success throughout the region and made it to the top 5 of the Jamaican music charts. The song’s accompanying video also reached number 1 on major Caribbean video channels and, as a result, Alese was nominated for an Excellence in Music and Entertainment (EME) award and won an RETV award for Best Caribbean Video. In addition, Alese was honoured by the Cayman Islands Music and Entertainment Association for wider promotion of the Cayman Islands through her music.

Alese first appeared on the music scene in 1999, performing island-wide with notable Caymanian bands, including After Dark and CMX-5. In 2005, Alese made her solo debut at the Cayman Islands Jazz Fest and has since gone on to open for headliners such as Brian McKnight, Anita Baker, Freddy Jackson, Roberta Flack and reggae greats Morgan Heritage and Maxi Priest.

Brian Braggs has been very active in the Cayman Islands performing arts and emerging film industry sector for the past several years. Along with a Los Angeles-based film and television company, Brian was most recently instrumental in the formation of the Cayman Islands Film Commission.

His passion for acting began at a very young age, with his aspiration of becoming a performer of martial arts in feature films. He achieved the honour of becoming Cayman’s top-rated martial artist for several years prior to leaving for college abroad. Braggs then went on to pursue a business degree at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Encouraged to audition for the Cayman Islands Cultural Foundation’s annual show “Rundown”, Mr Braggs prides himself as being an integral part of the local show since 2007, portraying six different diverse and distinct characters. He also played two more characters in the play “Mort” at the Prospect Playhouse in 2008.

His first real foray into feature films came when he appeared as attorney Winston Bramble in the film “Cayman Went” staring Jeffrey DeMunn, Michael Lombardi and Susan Misner. Braggs then landed the role of Cid in the short film “Here Comes The Night”, written and directed by Tim Kelly.

When not acting, Mr Braggs works professionally as a realtor in the Cayman Islands and splits his time between Cayman and Los Angeles.