Know Cox
Kenneth "Kenn" Louis Cox II (also Kenny Cox , born November 8, 1940 in Detroit ; † December 19, 2008 ibid) was an American jazz pianist (also bass, bassoon and trumpet), composer and university teacher.
Life
Kenny Cox first began to play the trumpet and attended the Detroit Conservatory of Music from 1949 to 1958 . In 1956, while studying at Cass Tech High School, he switched to the piano. After graduating, he studied at the Detroit Institute of Music Arts from 1959 to 1961, before moving to New York City , where he worked as an accompanist for Etta Jones until 1966 ; he also worked there with Wes Montgomery , Kenny Dorham , Jackie McLean , Philly Joe Jones , Joe Williams , Helen Humes and Ernestine Anderson .
On his return to Detroit he formed a hard bop quintet, which was directed by George Bohannon and for which he wrote compositions. Cox also produced a weekly radio program ( Kaleidophone ) for the broadcaster WDET. In 1967 he got the opportunity to record his compositions on two albums of the Blue Note label; Ron Brooks , Charles Moore , Leon Henderson and Danny Spencer played in his contemporary jazz quintet . Cox continued his work with the CJQ until the 1970s, when the ensemble was influenced by contemporary fusion currents. Cox then co-founded the musicians' cooperative (and labels of the same name) Strata , which produced a number of albums, publications and appearances a.o. a. organized by Herbie Hancock , Elvin Jones , Charles Mingus and Archie Shepp . In the 1980s he mainly worked in Detroit, u. a. with his Guerilla Jam Band , in which he brought guest musicians such as Regina Carter , James Carter , Tani Tabbal , Jaribu Shahid , Craig Taborn and Donald Walden and gave concerts at various Montreux-Detroit jazz festivals .
As a music educator, he founded the Societie of the Culturally Concerned , was Adjunct Professor at Wayne State University and Michigan State University . As a visiting professor, he taught jazz anthropology at Oberlin College . He published a book of his compositions, And Then I Wrote ... The Music World of Kenn Cox , wrote a jazz mass and most recently worked with the band Eternal Wind with Charles Moore and Adam Rudolph , and with Yusef Lateef . In 2008, Cox received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southeastern Michigan Jazz Association . He died of lung cancer in late 2008 at the age of 68 .
Discographic notes
- Introducing Kenny Cox (Blue Note, 1968)
- Multidirection (Blue Note, 1969)
Web links
- Portrait at Solidarity
- Cox characteristic at Allmusic (English)
- Obituary at All About Jazz
- Cox characteristic at Discogs (English)
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Cox, Kenn |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Cox II, Kenneth Louis |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz musician, university professor and composer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 8, 1940 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Detroit |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 19, 2008 |
| Place of death | Detroit |