Kendra Shank
Kendra Shank is a superbly skilled vocalist (New York Times) with a delectable voice (Time magazine) and breathtakingly original concept (Boston Globe). Her inventive phrasing, soulful storytelling, and spontaneous ensemble interplay, make each performance a creative, in- the-moment experience that entrances and inspires audiences. Headlining at festivals, concerts, and clubs across the U.S. and internationally, Shank combines jazz originals, standards, world music, French chansons, folk/pop songs, and open improvisation in an adventurous, genre-bending style that inspired Abbey Lincoln to call her “an original; a singer with a sound.”
Kendra Shank's six critically acclaimed CDs have garnered numerous Best of the Year awards, DownBeat poll recognition, and international airplay. Afterglow (Mapleshade Records, 1994), was co-produced by jazz legend Shirley Horn, who presented Shank at the Village Vanguard for her New York debut. Her second album, Wish (Jazz Focus Records, 1998), received a Time magazine rave, declaring: Get in on the ground floor: this lady is going up. Reflections (Jazz Focus Records, 1998) debuted her current working band, an ensemble of New York all-stars with pianist Frank Kimbrough (Maria Schneider Orchestra), bassist Dean Johnson (Gerry Mulligan), and drummer Tony Moreno (Dave Liebman), who are featured on her two subsequent recordings. Shank’s ground-breaking A Spirit Free: Abbey Lincoln Songbook (Challenge Records, 2007) pays tribute to that legendary singer’s importance as a songwriter. Mosaic (Challenge Records, 2009), is credited to the “Kendra Shank Quartet” in recognition of the collaborative nature of her band who “have spent [over] a decade tightening their exemplary unit, and the triumph of their solidity is evident throughout this stunningly inventive pastiche of covers and originals” (Jazz Times).
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Live Review
- Kendra Shank and the Geoffrey Keezer Trio Live at the Douglas Beach House at...
- Kendra Shank Quartet Live At The Saville Theater
Album Review
- Mosaic by Donald Elfman
- Mosaic by J Hunter
- A Spirit Free: Abbey Lincoln Songbook by Joel Roberts
- Reflections by Jerry D'Souza
- Reflections by Mathew Bahl
March 05, 2014
Jazz Vocalist Kendra Shank And Guitarist John Stowell Release...
April 07, 2009
Seattle Times: Popular Jazz Singer Kendra Shank Takes the Long Way Home
March 05, 2009
Kendra Shank Quartet on Tour in Support of New CD - "Mosaic"
August 01, 2007
Kendra Shank Quintet w/Billy Drewes @ Jazz Standard, August 14
January 08, 2006
Kendra Shank Quartet News + IAJE Performance
August 08, 2002
Kendra Shank Performs At Fifty-Five Bar In August 23
September 29, 2000
VOCALIST KENDRA SHANK CELEBRATES RELEASE OF NEW JAZZ FOCUS CD...
September 10, 2000
JAZZ VOCALIST KENDRA SHANK RELEASES NEW CD REFLECTIONS - FOLLOWUP TO...
Kendra Shank has a powerful stage presence and 'a vast amount of emotional range.' Hearing her in person — with the attentively swinging pianist Frank Kimbrough, bassist Dean Johnson and drummer Tony Moreno — the immediacy of her musicianship is powerful. -Nat Hentoff, WALL STREET JOURNAL
...she intoxicates with a combination of power and perfume
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Kendra Shank Concerts
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