Home » Jazz Musicians » Kenny Washington

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

Tags

8
Album Review

The Heavy Hitters: That's What's Up!

Read "That's What's Up!" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


Mike LeDonne and Eric Alexander head up a band called Heavy Hitters, which features a stellar cast of New York's jazz elite, including trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, alto saxophonist Vincent Herring, bassist Alexander Claffy and drummer Kenny Washington. They have released That's What's Up!, a live recording from Frankie's Jazz Club in Vancouver, British Columbia in December 2023 that captures the authenticity, spontaneity, and emotive power of a band firing on all cylinders. The set list is an artful blend of ...

33
Album Review

Heavy Hitters: That's What's Up!

Read "That's What's Up!" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Heavy Hitters is a superb New York-based sextet co-led by pianist Mike LeDonne and tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander. Individually and as a team, the Hitters keep their eyes squarely on the ball, swing for the fences and, more often than not, slam the spheroid solidly out of the park. And on this typically upbeat session they do it in front of an appreciative audience at Frankie's Club in Victoria, British Columbia. A freewheeling groove permeates the concert, ...

6
Liner Notes

Melvin Rhyne: Classmasters

Read "Melvin Rhyne: Classmasters" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


While it's an easy task to designate any number of Hammond B-3 organ players who have quickly fallen under the spell of innovator Jimmy Smith, it's not as simple to inventory the few individuals who've avoided Smith's overpowering influence to develop a sound and manner of their own. Melvin Rhyne is one who managed to carve a niche for himself during the '60s with a much lighter and less bombastic approach, around during the heydays as a member of Wes ...

4
Album Review

John Lee: Second Wind

Read "Second Wind" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


Second Wind, which, as the title indicates, is John Lee's sophomore recording, is a vivid example of the art of the trio featuring the estimable rhythm section Peter Washington on bass and Kenny Washington on drums. It had long been Lee's dream to play with these two legends and the result is a collection of favourites and some new material that swings with both vigour and subtle intimacy. The opening track is “It's A Blue World," ...

30
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 ...

5
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 ...

5
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 ...

Read more articles
1
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 ...

143
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 Music Group
2024

buy

Second Wind

Cellar Music Group
2024

buy

That's What's Up!

Cellar Music Group
2024

buy

Heavy Hitters

Cellar Music Group
2023

buy

The Heavy Hitters

Cellar Music Group
2023

buy

Green On The Scene

Cellar Music Group
2023

buy

Videos

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.