Rodney Kendrick

Rodney Kendrick (born April 30, 1960) is an American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, and producer. He has been described as a "hard swinging player and composer with a delightful Monkish wit and drive."^[1]

Biography

Rodney Kendrick was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but raised in Miami, Florida, where his parents moved soon after his birth. Kendrick grew up in a musical, and Pentecostal church-going family. His father James “Jimmy Kay” Kendrick, a pianist who worked with saxophonist Illinois Jacquet for seven years, played with saxophonist Sonny Stitt and Sam Rivers, and his mother gospel singer named Juet. The time Rodney was eighteen, he had already turned professional, touring and playing keyboards with R&B and funk acts, traveled the world with Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, James Brown and George Clinton. At twenty-one, he delved more deeply into jazz, moving to New York in 1981, began a career where he worked steadily, supporting Freddie Hubbard, Terence Blanchard, Stanley Turrentine, Clark Terry, J. J. Johnson, and others. He studied with pianist Barry Harris, who remained his teacher and mentor for over 20 years. Kendrick cites Randy Weston and Sun Ra as influences.^[2] In the early 1990s he served as Abbey Lincoln’s musical leader for seven years.

In 1994, Kendrick secured a deal with Verve Records, who issued his debut, The Secrets of Rodney Kendrick, and a year later the follow-up, Dance World Dance (1995), recording showcases Kendrick's arranging skills as well as his compositions. Both these albums features a range of musicians, from the smooth soul jazz saxophonist Houston Person to post-bop cornetist Graham Haynes, and alto-saxophonist Arthur Blythe, and South African tenorist Bheki Mseleku among its guests.

Kendrick married Diana Ross's oldest daughter Rhonda in 1996. His next album We Don't Die, We Multiply (1997), mainly Kendrick's compositions, is a fine album, one composition "Led Astray" is from his wife Rhonda, and on saxophone Dewey Redman, and several others — is inventive and invigorating, making the album well worth a listen.

Rodney has produced several albums, including a solo piece titled Thank You (2002), a duo-piano piece with his mentor Randy Weston, an album with his wife titled Rhonda Ross Live: Featuring Rodney Kendrick (2002), as well as a project with his father, Jimmy Kay, entitled Black is Back (2006).

Selective discography

Footnotes

External links

• Jazz Duo-Piano Series with Randy Weston and Rodney Kendrick
• Miami New Times: James L. "Jimmy Kay" Kendrick (Published: July 12, 2007)