Kenwood Dennard
Image Credits: Kenwood Dennard Zildjian smile © Melanie Futorian
November 17, 2018
Then, Now and Later
I sat down with Kenwood Dennard masterful, innovative drummer and educator and asked him about his life then, now and later…
“It’s all right here baby, right in the present, that’s where I’m at. And right now I just made a CD called “Show No Fear” with Kenwood Metajam Allstars on Groove Economy Records. It’s with some amazing artists including Stanley Jordan, Delmar Brown, Vernon Reid and TM Stevens. My wife Cherie co- produced the CD with me and plays percussion on it. She wears many hats.
So here I am, sitting in Manna House Workshop in East Harlem, the arts center my mother, Gloria founded in 1967. It was a musical playground for me growing up, where at one point I even had a 39 piece drum-set downstairs. This is the ultimate then, now and later as I first started drumming when I was 9, teaching here when I was 11 and I’ve been a professor at Berklee College of Music for the last 22 years.
In terms of later? Well, if you’re too late you’re going to miss this CD coming out,” Kenwood says with a smile.
“We just released it on KenwoodDennard.com, CD Baby, I Tunes and on Amazon too.
I see my music as being meta-rhythmic, transcending the mundane so it has a lot of different elements. It always stretches, you can always feel something. It’s more of a groove, a pulse, it’s danceable.
I do some 6 way panasonic co-ordination on the CD, which is where I play keyboards and drums at the same time. A 2 way panasonic co-ordination would be just playing drums and singing.
To hear more of that, you’ll have to check out my other band, Metarhythmic Orchestra, which is my one man band that I’ve been doing for ages.
I was there in the beginning of the jazz fusion movement. Loved playing with Delmar Brown. We toured all over the world with Sting and Jaco Pastorius. Jaco was one of my favorite persons to play with as it was so freeing and I so enjoyed drumming for Pat Martino too. He was on the cutting edge artistically and intellectually, stretching the melodic boundaries like George Benson,
I had fun playing with Manhattan Transfer, George Clinton, Chick Corea, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul, Miles Davis, Maceo Parker, and so many others but one musician who taught me a lot about drumming with vocalists, is singer Gloria Dennard. It’s been a joy. You can’t duplicate that artistic connection – and the fact that she’s my mother, well that’s another step beyond.
Art Blakey once said to me, whatever you do, don’t hold back.
So, let’s see what later brings”.
–
Latin – Chinese Connection Jazzespresso Magazine Futorian Reportage – copyright 2018
Reservados todos los derechos – All rights reserved – 版權所有 – 版权所有
ABOUT US / 關於我們 / 关于我们 / NOSOTROS
[Subscribe to JazzEspresso Newsletter if you want to be always kept posted!]
Jazzespresso es una revista, un sitio web, una red, un centro, que conecta todas las almas del jazz de todo el mundo. América, Europa, Asia, Australia y África: noticias de todo el mundo en una página en cuatro idiomas. Un punto de referencia multicultural en inglés, chino y castellano para los amantes de esta música en todos los países. Para el aficionado o el profesional que quiere mantenerse informado sobre lo que está ocurriendo en todo el mundo. Manténganse informados!
Jazzespresso is a magazine, a website, a network, a hub, connecting all the souls of jazz all over the world. Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa: news from all over the world on a page in four languages. A multicultural reference point in English, Chinese and Spanish language for the lovers of this music in every country. For the amateur or the pro who wants to be updated about what is happening all around the world… Stay tuned.
Jazzespresso 不只是一個爵士樂雜誌，也是一個能將擁有各種不同精髓的世界爵士樂，包括美洲、歐洲、亞洲、澳洲及非洲各地，互相連結起來的網站及交流站。以中文及英文寫成的內容將是一個新的多元文化交流的參考點，為各地的爵士音樂愛好者提供來自全世界最新的消息。請持續關注！
JazzEspresso 不只是一个爵士乐杂誌，也是一个能将拥有各种不同精髓的世界爵士乐，包括美洲、欧洲、亚洲、澳洲及非洲各地，互相连结起来的网站及交流站。以中文及英文写成的内容将是一个新的多元文化交流的参考点，为各地的爵士音乐爱好者提供来自全世界最新的消息。请持续关注！
Info: info@jazzespresso.com; Advertising / 廣告 / 广告 / Publicidad: adv@jazzespresso.com.
