Kendra Shank
Kendra Shank (born April 23, 1958 in Woodland (California) ) is an American jazz singer , guitarist and percussionist .
Live and act
Shank was originally a folk singer before coming into contact with jazz during a stay in Paris, playing with Claudine François and Jim Pepper . She studied with Jay Clayton ; from 1988 to 1996 she worked in Seattle , Washington state , before moving to New York City in 1997 . In 1991 she worked as a singer, guitarist and percussionist in Bob Dorough's quartet; In 1992 she made her debut as a soloist at Village Vanguard . In 1994 Shank's first album Afterglow was released on the Mapleshade label , on whose production Shirley Horn participated. She was accompanied by the pianist Larry Willis and the saxophonist Gary Bartz ; on the album she sings a cover version of Elvis Costello's "Almost Blue". In 1998 and 2000 the albums Wish (with Joe Locke and Victor Lewis ) and Reflections (with Tony Moreno ) followed, which brought her numerous awards, such as in the Down Beat International Critics Poll as Talent Deserving Wider Recognition . Since then, Shank has been working with an accompanying band around the pianist Frank Kimbrough . In 2007 her album A Spirit Free: Abbey Lincoln Songbook was released on the Dutch label Challenge Records , followed by Mosaic in 2009 . She has also worked with Jay Clayton, Bud Shank (to whom she is not related), Norman Hedman and Peter Leitch ( Blues on the Corner ); As a guitarist she was involved in Abbey Lincoln's album Over The Years ( Verve , 2000). Guitarist Ken Wessel , bassist Dean Johnson and drummer Matt Wilson currently play in their backing band (2013) .
Discographic notes
- Wish ( Jazz Focus , 1998) with Frank Kimbrough , Hans Teuber , Victor Lewis , Joe Locke
- Reflections (Jazz Focus, 2000) with Frank Kimbrough, Dean Johnson, Tony Moreno
- A Spirit Free: Abbey Lincoln Songbook (Challenge, 2007) with Ben Monder
- Mosaic (Challenge, 2008)
- New York Conversations (TCB, 2014), with John Stowell
literature
- Richard Cook and Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings . 8th edition, Penguin, London 2006, ISBN 0-141-02327-9
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Shank, Kendra |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz singer, guitarist and percussionist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 23, 1958 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Woodland (California) |