Harold McKinney

Harold McKinney (* 4. July 1928 in Detroit ; † 20th June 2001 ) was an American jazz - pianist , band leader and music teacher.

Live and act

Harold McKinney has been one of the leading musicians on the Detroit jazz scene since the 1940s. He first had classical lessons from his mother, Bessie Walon McKinney, an organist. Under the influence of the music of Charlie Parker , he turned to jazz. After graduating from Northwestern High School, he attended Morehouse College in Atlanta . After returning to Detroit, he briefly studied at Wayne State University , and in Germany he did military service in the early 1950s. After returning to the United States, he worked a. a. with Roy Brooks , Kenny Burrell , John Coltrane , Wes Montgomery and with Marcus Belgrave , Wendell Harrison and Phil Ranelin in the artists' association Tribe .

He is considered one of the great mentors of jazz in his hometown and has also worked as a music teacher, published educational videos and held courses and workshops at the Detroit SerNgeti Ballroom . He also created jazz programs at Oakland University and Wayne State University , performed his Discovering Jazz and Jazz For a New Generation programs in public schools and festivals, taught at the Metro Arts Center and numerous summer youth programs, and produced one weekly held jazz workshop called the Detroit Jazz Heritage Performance Lab (DJHPL).

In 1990 McKinney received the Jazz Master Award from the Arts Midwest organization for his life's work . His debut album, Voices and Rhythms of the Creative Profile, was released in 1974 on the Detroit independent label Tribe. The following four albums were released and distributed by McKinney Arts, Inc. and Rebirth, Inc., Root Classics (1991) with solo piano and small ensemble; Discovering Jazz (1993); in the same year he recorded a duo album with Wendell Harrison ( Something for Pops ); In 1994 he worked on his Enja album Rush & Hustle . With his own band, the Jazz Masters , he went on a tour through Africa and the Middle East in 1995. McKinney suffered a stroke in May 2001 and died the following month. In 2005 his band recorded a concert from 1974 with musicians such as Marcus Belgrave , Doug Hammond , Wendell Harrison and Phil Ranelin . In honor of the late musician, the all-star formation McKinfolk performed at the thirtieth Detroit Jazz Festival in 2009.

Harold McKinney is the older brother of Ray McKinney (1931-2004) and Bernard McKinney (* 1932) and the uncle of the musician and producer Carlos McKinney .

Discographic notes

• Something for Pops (1993)
• Voices and Rhythms of the Creative Profile (1974, ed. 2005)

swell

• Allmusic
• Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings . 8th edition. Penguin, London 2006, ISBN 0-14-102327-9 .
• Discographical and biographical references at Discogs