16251 Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 Kenny Kirkland's solo album is such a great album (I know I'm preaching to choir.) I've been doing some serious listening lately and keep coming back to KK. The writing, the arrangements, the solos. creative use of DX7. [video:youtube] Quote AvantGrand N2 | ES520 | Gallien-Krueger MK & MP | https://soundcloud.com/pete36251 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 I often think of what he could have done after that one. It seems that he had another album in the works... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Paxton Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 I could gush about this album for days, but I'll try to restrain myself. I think the synth work featured more M1 than DX7. There are some marimba-type sounds that could be either, but the strings and choir are definitely the M1. And of course the unmistakable M1 piano in "Blasphemy." Speaking of which, "Blasphemy" recently became a whole different tune for me. I had always "heard" it as being in alternating bars of 4 and 5. But then in a Kenny Kirkland Facebook group I'm in, someone posted a chart they'd done for it, and they wrote it in 3. Once I listened to it again, I realized they were right and I'd been hearing it wrong all these years. It's in 3, with 3-bar phrases. So the phrases I was counting as... 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4-5 ...are actually... 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3 I had never really connected with that tune before, but I like it a lot more now. It's still probably my least favorite one on the album because I find the arrangement unnecessarily cluttered, but there's a killer recording of Kenny and Branford doing it as a duet at a Sting concert that's not hard to find. Also worth noting: Kenny's arrangement of Monk's "Criss-Cross" from this album was the first thing the world ever heard the "new" tonight show band play (other than the opening theme) when Branford became the bandleader after Jay Leno took over (tune starts about 9:05): [video:youtube] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George88 Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 All hail!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 I'm a huge Kenny Kirkland fan! Loved his work with Sting. Great keyboard player! There are a couple of cool Keyboard Magazine articles about him, including a transcription of his DX7 lead from "Shadows in the Rain." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Paxton Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 A couple years ago I put together a Kenny Kirkland tribute show near the 20th anniversary of his passing, and did a bunch of the tunes from this record. I had a killer quartet, including Jason Marsalis on drums. But man, it was some of the most difficult music I've ever tried to get together. After a LOT of woodshedding, I was pretty happy with how it came out. This was the set list (which reads in reverse order in, because the charts were stacked top-down). Also, there's a documentary film on Kenny in the works. A few clips from it have been posted in the Facebook group â interviews with Tain, Billy Hart, Rodney Jones, a couple others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 A couple years ago I put together a Kenny Kirkland tribute show near the 20th anniversary of his passing, and did a bunch of the tunes from this record. I had a killer quartet, including Jason Marsalis on drums. But man, it was some of the most difficult music I've ever tried to get together. After a LOT of woodshedding, I was pretty happy with how it came out. That's fantastic! Are those charts your transcriptions, or they can be downloaded/purchased somewhere?! Also, there's a documentary film on Kenny in the works. A few clips from it have been posted in the Facebook group â interviews with Tain, Billy Hart, Rodney Jones, a couple others. Great news. I hope it will be out soon. And btw - I can't see how a thread about Kenny on KC could be possibly considered off topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George88 Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 +1 request of shared charts!!! Incredible work, Josh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRW Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 Love that album! And Kenny! And yes, some very tricky tunes. 'Dienda' is a gorgeous tune. Did you know Sting wrote lyrics to it and performed it as a tribute? Loved Kenny in Sting"s 'Blue Turtles' era band. Bring On The Night (the documentary / concert film) is a must own. Two other Kirkland favorites: the whole Kenny Garrett 'Songbook' album - wow! and the solo to 'La Belle Dame Sans Regrets' on Sting"s 'Mercury Falling' album. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Paxton Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 I did the charts myself. Some I did by ear, some were based on Kenny's own charts. Let's see if this works...1375.pdf1376.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Paxton Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Looks like I can only attach two files per post, so here's two different charts for "Chance" - a complete transcription and a chord chart.1377.pdf1378.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Paxton Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Dienda - chord chart and written-out intro...1379.pdf1380.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George88 Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Josh, so generous. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Paxton Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Mr. J. C. - Kenny's handwritten chart... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Paxton Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 ...and two versions I did:1384.pdf1385.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Paxton Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 And two versions of Steepian Faith. The detailed one is based on a copy of a computer-generated chart that apparently came off of Delfeayo's computer. It looked like MOTU Composer 1.0. I copied it exactly, just cleaned it up in Sibelius.1386.pdf1387.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
16251 Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 A couple years ago I put together a Kenny Kirkland tribute show near the 20th anniversary of his passing, and did a bunch of the tunes from this record. I had a killer quartet, including Jason Marsalis on drums. But man, it was some of the most difficult music I've ever tried to get together. After a LOT of woodshedding, I was pretty happy with how it came out. This was the set list (which reads in reverse order in, because the charts were stacked top-down). Also, there's a documentary film on Kenny in the works. A few clips from it have been posted in the Facebook group â interviews with Tain, Billy Hart, Rodney Jones, a couple others. Hero! Quote AvantGrand N2 | ES520 | Gallien-Krueger MK & MP | https://soundcloud.com/pete36251 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 it's efforts like this that make Keyboard Corner such a great place. Thank you, Joshua Paxton for all your contributions here. And btw - I can't see how a thread about Kenny on KC could be possibly considered off topic. have to agree here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerrythek Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Thanks Josh - plenty of homework now (that's a good thing)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Josh - thanks a million for your great work *and* your generosity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Quinn Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Thanks Josh. Being a huge Kenny K fan I"m looking forward to checking out the charts you shared. Quote https://alquinn.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Paxton Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 This thread inspired me to finish this...1393.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 holy moley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Paxton Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 While Kenny only did one album under his own name, there are two other albums that feature him in a piano-bass-drums trio setting. So while they're not technically his records, they might as well be. The easiest one to point to is the Robert Hurst album "One for Namesake," with Elvin Jones on drums. The other is slightly trickier because it was released two different times, not only with different names but under different leadership. It was originally released as a Jeff "Tain" Watts album under the name "MegaWatts." But it was later released with the name Jazz From Keystone as the collective title for the trio (Tain, Kenny and Charnett Moffett), under the title "Thunder and Rainbows." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 While Kenny only did one album under his own name, there are two other albums that feature him in a piano-bass-drums trio setting. So while they're not technically his records, they might as well be. The easiest one to point to is the Robert Hurst album "One for Namesake," with Elvin Jones on drums. The other is slightly trickier because it was released two different times, not only with different names but under different leadership. It was originally released as a Jeff "Tain" Watts album under the name "MegaWatts." But it was later released with the name Jazz From Keystone as the collective title for the trio (Tain, Kenny and Charnett Moffett), under the title "Thunder and Rainbows." Cool tip! For anyone that's on Apple Music, "One for Namesake" is on there as such, the Tain album is under "MegaWatts." I didn't find it under the "Thunder and Rainbows" title, though it might have gotten lost with all the other similarly named albums. Quote "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Paxton Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 I was a little too quick on the draw posting the "Steepian Faith" transcription; I found a couple minor errors that I've fixed. If you've downloaded it, you'll want to replace it with this 2.0 version:1394.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Paxton Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 Now I'm especially grateful this thread came up because it prompted me to dig up this file, which it turned out I'd lost track of and had to do some searching through backup drives. This is 2/3 of what was supposedly Kenny's own chart for "Steepian Faith," which is what I based mine on. I don't know what happened to the third page, but this is still a good reference.1395.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
16251 Posted September 3, 2020 Author Share Posted September 3, 2020 Does anyone remember a performance of Kenny Kirkland playing a Korg SG-1D? I remember seeing him perform live, I'm assuming with Sting and because of that, I bought a Korg SG-1D. I've done some investigating over the years but never found a video. I'm only mentioning it cause of the KK fans responding to this thread. Thanks. Quote AvantGrand N2 | ES520 | Gallien-Krueger MK & MP | https://soundcloud.com/pete36251 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyB3 Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 Kenny on the Korg: Bring on the Night: [video:youtube] Jay Hoggard"s band of whom Kenny was a member used to practice in a studio in NYC in the late 70"s. The first time I heard him play was looking though a studio door window. Blown away and instantly felt he was special. Reminded me of Error Garner in the joyfulness of the improvisations. Kenny appeared on many recordings by other artists. Here are a few perhaps less known recordings: Jay Hoggard"s Rainforest and bassist Charles Fambrough"s The Proper Angle. [video:youtube] [video:youtube] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerrythek Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 I grew up in North Jersey, and there was a club in Morristown called Townhouse Off The Green that I used to play at a lot. One night the drummer Terry Silverlight (Barry Miles younger brother) brought in a trio with Kenny on Rhodes. It was a small club and I got to sit right behind Kenny... what a treat! Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.