Bassist and New York City resident Tom Kennedy may not be one of the headliners at the upcoming star-studded Sea of JazzFest, but the 54-year-old will be one of the most versatile musicians in a sea of them at Pompano Beach Ampitheatre.
The event includes saxophonist Phil Woods, trumpeters Randy Brecker and Terell Stafford, vocalist Tierney Sutton, flutist Hubert Laws, clarinetist Ken Peplowski, and fellow bassists John Clayton and Christian McBride, among others.
The Jan. 23-24 festival is a Friday-Saturday event, and Kennedy plays acoustic upright bass on the final day with Peplowski’s quintet in a themed set entitled “Old Blue Eyes and Lady Day: Swingin’ the Music of Frank Sinatra.” Rounding out the band are vocalist and Holiday specialist Niki Haris, acclaimed pianist Shelly Berg (who, as dean of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, is even better-known as an educator), and drummer Ernie Adams — who played on the 1998 CD The Infinite Desire by guitarist Al Di Meola, on which Kennedy recorded on electric bass, the secondary instrument he took up at age 17, eight years after starting on the upright.
The versatile bassist nonetheless remains underrated, and the reasons can only be speculative. Sure, he has a relatively common name; was born in the Midwestern United States (St. Louis), comes across as humble, and is primarily self-taught as opposed to having attended a famous music school. But his playing, at least, began to draw notice on electric bass 30 years ago, when he was chosen for a series of solo releases by former Return to Forever guitarist Bill Connors. Kennedy, in fact, now has two different signature five-string electric basses made by Fodera. His recording career, though, started much earlier on upright.
“I get about an equal number of calls for sessions on each instrument now,” Kennedy says. “But I was recorded in St. Louis playing upright with Nat Adderley when I was 16. My brother Ray is a pianist, and we played with Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Stitt; whoever was coming through town. We played with Dizzy Gillespie when I was 11 and he was 14! My first recording was with my brother when I was 9. My sister Wanda, who’s a classical pianist and vocalist, sang on it. We all ended up having perfect pitch.
“I still have a 200-year-old acoustic upright that never had a label on it, so I don’t know who made it. That one hardly ever leaves the house except for occasional recordings. I also have a 100-year-old German upright that I’ve used quite a bit. Lately, I’m using a new Chadwick folding upright, where the neck folds inside the body to fit into the case. It’s a good instrument, and really convenient for traveling. I’ll have it in Pompano Beach.”
The first of three 1985-1987 electric releases by Connors, Step It, included drummer Dave Weckl, also a St. Louis native. Now 55 years old and an established fusion star, Weckl was then rising to prominence as part of keyboard icon Chick Corea’s Elektric Band. He and Kennedy had met 10 years earlier when each was 15, and started a musical relationship that’s slowly grown ever since.
Kennedy appeared on Weckl’s 1990 solo debut Master Plan; Weckl on Kennedy’s 1996 solo maiden voyage Basses Loaded, and the bassist has been part of Weckl’s band recordings from 1998’s electric Rhythm of the Soul and the scintillating Live (and very plugged in) from 2003 to the latest, Of the Same Mind (2014) by the Dave Weckl Acoustic Band. The drummer had already returned the favor, appearing on Kennedy’s latest, Just Play!, in 2013.
“I met Dave at a Stan Kenton summer camp in Springfield, Missouri,” Kennedy says. “It attracted musicians from all over the Midwest. My brother and I were always looking for drummers, so when I first played with Dave, I knew it felt great, but figured he couldn’t live nearby. But he said he lived just outside St. Louis, so we’ve played together ever since.”
What Weckl heard in Kennedy, and what others have increasingly noticed, is the bassist’s impeccable tone on either electric or upright, and a musicality that accentuates and enhances the simplest series of notes to the most extreme and complex passages, whether on traditional jazz or fusion; rock or funk, or his early work in commercial jingles to the contemporary material he’s played at Lincoln Center, a stone’s throw from his Big Apple residence.
With influences from acoustic upright masters Ray Brown, Scott LaFaro and Eddie Gomez to electric players Anthony Jackson, Stanley Clarke and Larry Graham, it’s no wonder.
“Tom Kennedy is one of the best bass players I’ve ever played with in my life,” says guitarist Mike Stern, who’s on Just Play! and uses Kennedy in his self-titled touring band. “I’m very proud to be included on his record, and very happy he’s on my next record.”
It’s a telling statement by Stern, who’s yet another on Kennedy’s ascending list of touring and session recording credits. The guitarist has only played with artists from Blood, Sweat & Tears to Miles Davis, and with bassists including Jaco Pastorius, Marcus Miller, Victor Wooten, John Patitucci, Richard Bona and Will Lee.
Peplowski’s 2010 CD In Search Of… featured both Kennedy on upright and Berg on piano. And the bassist is familiar with, and admires, the talents of both the bandleader and bandmates.
“Ken writes great charts,” he says of the 55-year-old Peplowski (called “arguably the greatest living jazz clarinetist” by Russell Davies of BBC 2). “Plus, he’s really good at thematic shows like this. He finds obscure tunes, facts and anecdotes about the artists, and presents them so well. He’s a great guy with a great sense of humor; just a ball to work with.
“Shelly is the musical director on the Caribbean Jazz Cruise, which leaves out of Fort Lauderdale for a week after the Pompano show, and will be the next gig for us. Ken was doing that job before, and Shelly replaced him. He’s excellent; Niki’s great, and Ernie and I go way back. We toured with Di Meola after recording with him. I’ve done 12 of these cruises, and they’re always a lot of fun. They’ve gradually gone from the smallest cruise ship in the line to the biggest, but they sell out every year, this one included.”
Day two of the Sea of JazzFest has Peplowski’s quintet, with Kennedy, sandwiched between the Clayton Brothers Quintet (with 62-year-old Grammy-winning bassist John Clayton, saxophonist and brother Jeff Clayton, John’s piano-playing son Gerald Clayton, trumpeter Terell Stafford, and drummer Obed Calvaire) and the Christian McBride Trio, led by the 42-year-old Grammy-winning bassist and featuring pianist Peter Martin and drummer Jamison Ross. All three acts will also appear on the cruise between Jan. 25 and Feb. 1.
“It’s great, because there aren’t that many other situations where I can be walking down the hall and see Christian or John otherwise,” Kennedy says. “Christian is such a sweet guy; all about the music, and has such a great spirit and huge personality. He’s a phenomenal jazz ambassador. As is John, who’s one of the slickest cats. His notes, lines and sound are just pure perfection. And like Christian, he’s so accessible even though he’s larger than life.”
When Kennedy first moved to New York City in 1984, he auditioned for and landed the bass slot in vibraphonist Mike Mainieri’s group Steps Ahead, which featured jazz stars in since-deceased saxophonist Michael Brecker, drummer Peter Erskine, and the departing bassist Gomez. The saxophonist proved a calming, welcoming presence, and Kennedy also formed a bond with his older brother, trumpeter and Sea of JazzFest day one headliner Randy Brecker, who’ll play with his wife, saxophonist Ada Rovatti.
“I got that gig about three days after I arrived in New York,” Kennedy says. “I’d played with Peter at the Kenton camps when we were both very young, and we’d stayed in touch and performed together when he came through St. Louis. He said they’d just completed auditions to replace Eddie, but that he’d talked the band into hearing me as well. So I got the gig to replace Eddie, but on electric, because the band was going more in that direction.”
“I ended up getting to know Randy very well, and love his playing. His quintet with Ada is great. But Michael, whose playing I revered, called me up early on the Steps Ahead tour, when I was wide-eyed, bushy-tailed and trying to fit in. He took me out to lunch; we talked about our older brothers and what pains in the ass they could be, and had a bonding session. You don’t forget those things. I learned never to take for granted the position I’m in, and to pay it forward like that whenever I can.”
Like many, Kennedy is impressed with the talent at the inaugural Sea of JazzFest, which also features revered saxophonist Phil Woods (with longtime quintet members Brian Lynch, Bill Mays, Steve Gilmore and Bill Goodwin), percussionist Nanny Assis and Brazilian Carnaval Jazz, and the acclaimed duo of flutist Hubert Laws and vocalist Tierney Sutton on day one.
“Phil blows me away,” Kennedy says. “Like Charlie Parker, you hear him play three notes and you know it’s him. He’s so distinctive. What an icon. I’ve heard Tierney in many different situations, and I love her voice and approach. And she’ll play on the cruise with Hubert as well. Can’t wait to hear that. The only artist I’m not familiar with is Nanny, but I hope there’s time to check him out, too. What a lineup.”
On Friday, see the Phil Woods Quintet from 7-8 p.m., Nanny Assis & Brazilian Carnaval Jazz from 8:15-9 p.m., and Hubert Laws and Tierney Sutton from 9:15-10 p.m. On Saturday, see the Clayton Brothers Quintet from 7-8:15 p.m., the Ken Peplowski Quintet from 8:30-9:30 p.m., and the Christian McBride Trio from 9:45-11 p.m., all at the Sea of JazzFest at the Pompano Beach Ampitheatre, 1806 N.E. 6th St., Pompano Beach (954-519-5500 or 954-946-2402). Tickets: $35 for general admission, $65 for premium and $150 for VIP for one night; $65, $125 and $250 for both nights.