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Kenny Washington

One of the many young hard-bop revivalists to have arrived on the scene in the late '70s and early ‘80s, Washington has been in particular demand by much older musicians, playing with such legendary veterans as Lee Konitz, Betty Carter, Johnny Griffin, Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, and Tommy Flanagan. Born in Brooklyn, Washington studied with the former Dizzy Gillespie drummer Rudy Collins and attended New York's LaGuardia High School for Music & Art.

Washington worked with Konitz while still in his teens, recording with the saxophonist's nonet in 1977. He worked with Carter from 1978-9 and Griffin from 1980. A prolific freelancer, Washington has compiled an enormous discography, performing on dozens of sessions by many of jazz's most prominent figures. Washington has a strong interest in jazz history; he's written liner notes for and/or helped prepare classic jazz re-releases by Art Blakey and Count Basie, among others.

He's also taught jazz drumming at the New School in New York City, and worked as an announcer at the New Jersey jazz radio station WBGO. Source: Chris Kelsey

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17
Album Review

Charles Chen: Charles, Play!

Read "Charles, Play!" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Pianist Charles Chen makes his recorded debut and confidently answers the command on Charles, Play!, a splendid quartet date on which he is ably supported by veteran tenor saxophonist Ralph Moore and the peerless rhythmic tandem of bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington. Chen wrote four of the album's nine engaging numbers and had the good sense to pair them with three pleasurable standards and tantalizing originals by Charlie Parker ("Passport") and Cedar Walton (the closing ...

2
Album Review

Samara Joy: A Joyful Holiday

Read "A Joyful Holiday" reviewed by Dave Linn


It's been a whirlwind 15 months for Samara Joy. After announcing she signed with Verve, her debut for the label, Linger Awhile (2022) was released to great acclaim. She was then nominated (and won) two Grammys for Best New Artist and Best Jazz Vocal. The success of that record was followed up with Linger Awhile Deluxe Edition (Verve, 2023) containing another album's worth of material. Joy has also put out a single, “Tight," where she pays tribute to Betty Carter ...

3
Album Review

Samara Joy: Linger Awhile [Deluxe Edition]

Read "Linger Awhile [Deluxe Edition]" reviewed by Dave Linn


Samara Joy's meteoric rise since graduating from High School has been well documented. As a college junior, she filmed herself singing Ella Fitzgerald's “Take Love Easy" accompanied by one of her professors, pianist Pete Malinverni. The video went viral, garnering over one million views. She then put up a GoFundMe page, quickly reaching the $8,000 goal to record her debut album Samara Joy (Whirlwind, 2021). A year later, Verve Records announced her signing and the release of her label debut ...

6
Album Review

Nick Green: Green On The Scene

Read "Green On The Scene" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


Nick Green's latest release, Green On The Scene, is a captivating musical journey which combines masterful instrumentation, intricate compositions and a profound sense of improvisational exploration. Accompanied by trumpeter Joe Magnarelli, pianist Jeb Patton, bassist Mike Karn and the inestimable drummer Kenny Washington, the band embarks on a set list of compositions which are at the intersection of tradition and modernity. The session opens with Charlie Parker's “Red Cross," a contrafact written over the lines of ...

2
Album Review

Mike LeDonne: The Heavy Hitters

Read "The Heavy Hitters" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


Homing in on the electric, ancestral vibe of Rudy Van Gelder's house of musical myth and magic in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, the Heavy Hitters, spearheaded by journeyman pianist Mike LeDonne and well-traveled saxophonist, Eric Alexander, approach this eponymous debut with a ballsy, brassy, big sounding blueprint which carries through the entire recording. In deciding who best to share Van Gelder's hallowed space with, LeDonne and Alexander brought in the big guns--namely trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, alto saxophonist Vincent ...

5
Album Review

Mike LeDonne: The Heavy Hitters

Read "The Heavy Hitters" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


There was a period back in the middle years of the 20th Century and beyond when All-Star Groups were quite common, including the Buck Clayton All-Stars, Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars, and Gene Harris and the Phillip Morris Superband among several other similar aggregations. In today's musical environment, this kind of coming together of high profile musicians is exceedingly rare, primarily driven by cost issues, although availability of the musicians is also a limiting factor. Pianist & organist Mike LeDonne was ...

40
Album Review

The Heavy Hitters: The Heavy Hitters

Read "The Heavy Hitters" reviewed by Jack Bowers


The Heavy Hitters. Hyperbole? A matter of fact? Or simply the name given by co-leaders Mike LeDonne and Eric Alexander to their newly minted sextet. The third statement is true--but so is the second. From pianist LeDonne and tenor saxophonist Alexander to fellow front-liners Jeremy Pelt (trumpet) and Vincent Herring (alto sax) and the Washingtons, Peter on bass and Kenny at the drums, these gentlemen are by any measure heavy hitters. Their first album as a unit ...

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Performance / Tour

Kenny Washington delights - again

Kenny Washington delights - again

Source: Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes

Oakland CA-based singer Kenny Washington is a marvel, plain and simple. And his return performance to Artis Naples' All That Jazz series on Wednesday, December 13 showcased the diminutive singer's skills,tone and wide range, and his artful scatting on two of the evening's 10 tunes. Washington was special guest with the Naples Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra, which on this evening was stretched from its usual sextet to a septet. The mega-talented band this night included tenor saxophonist and artistic director Lew ...

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Music Industry

VOCALIST KENNY WASHINGTON AT JAZZSCHOOL/LA NOTE IN BERKELEY, CA SUNDAY, JUNE 4

VOCALIST KENNY WASHINGTON AT JAZZSCHOOL/LA NOTE IN BERKELEY, CA SUNDAY, JUNE 4

Source: All About Jazz

Noel Milanio, piano, Mike Bacile, bass, Mark Lee, drums Sunday, June 4, 4:30 pm Jazzschool/La Note, 2377 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley General Admission $12, Students/Seniors $10 Jazzschool Students/Children under 13 $6 Limited seating/reservations recommended: (510) 845-5373

Vocalist KENNY WASHINGTON can be heard at the Jazzschool/La Note, 2377 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley on Sunday, June 4, at 4:30 pm. Seating is limited and advance reservations are suggested: (510) 845-5373.

Described as a ...

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Charles, Play!

Cellar Records
2024

buy

Heavy Hitters

Cellar Music Group
2023

buy

The Heavy Hitters

Cellar Records
2023

buy

Green On The Scene

Cellar Music group
2023

buy

A Joyful Holiday

Verve Records
2023

buy

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