Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1955, Kenneth David Kirkland was only six when he first sat down at a piano keyboard. After years of Catholic schooling, Kirkland enrolled at the Manhattan School Of Music, where he studied classical piano performance, classical theory and composition. His first professional work came with Polish fusion violinist Michal Urbaniak, touring throughout Europe with a his group in 1977 and recording the albums Urbaniak and Daybreak. Coincidentally, Kirkland's next high-profile gig was with another Eastern European jazz émigré, Miroslav Vitous. Kirkland is featured on Vitous' ECM recordings First Meeting and Miroslav Vitous Group. In his more than twenty-year career, Kirkland performed or recorded with such artists as Dizzy Gillespie, Elvin Jones, John Scofield, Kenny Garrett, Carla Bley, Michael Brecker, Stanley Jordan, Kevin Eubanks, Arturo Sandoval, Don Alias, Tom Scott, Ernie Watts and Mark Whitfield.
In the early 1980s, Kirkland was on tour in Japan with trumpeter Terumasa Hino, when he was said to have met Wynton Marsalis, which began their long association. On Marsalis' self-titled debut album, Kirkland shared the piano duties with one of his musical influences, Herbie Hancock, but was the sole pianist on Marsalis' subsequent releases Think Of One, Hothouse Flowers and Black Codes (From the Underground). After his association with Wynton Marsalis, Kirkland joined Branford Marsalis' band. He is featured on the albums Royal Garden Blues, Renaissance, Random Arrest, Crazy People Music, I Heard You Twice The First Time and the eponymously-titled album from Marsalis' funk band Buckshot Lefonque. When Branford Marsalis assumed the high-visibility role of bandleader for NBC TV's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Kirkland became the band's pianist. But his time on a Los Angeles-based television show would be short-lived, and he returned to the East coast and session work.
Throughout his career, Kirkland offered his talents to a variety of non-jazz artists, from soul singers Ben E. King and Angela Bofill, to Senegalese star Youssou N'Dour, to classic-rockers Stephen Stills and David Crosby. As opposed to many piano "purists," Kirkland was never shy of electric keyboards and synthesizers. He also ran contrary to jazz orthodoxy when he left Wynton Marsalis' acoustic traditional jazz combo to join Branford Marsalis accompanying ex-Police pop star Sting. Kirkland appears on Sting albums Dream Of The Blue Turtles, Bring On The Night, Soul Cages and Mercury Falling.
In 1991, he released his debut as a leader, Kenny Kirkland, on GRP Records. An album on Sunnyside Records, Thunder And Rainbows/J.F.K., is also credited to him.
Kirkland is survived by his mother, a brother and a sister.
His career includes stints with Miroslav Vitous, Elvin Jones, Michael Urbaniak, and Wynton Marsalis. Perhaps most widely know for his tenure with Sting--with which he played startling original voicings that harnessed contemporary electronics to full effect--or perhaps for his role on television's "The Tonight Show" band with Branford Marsalis, Kirkland recorded only one solo album but scores as a sessions player. His diverse credits include Terence Blanchard, Carla Bley, Michael Brecker, Stanley Clarke, Urszula Dudziak, Chico Freeman, and David Crosby. He also composed songs that appeared on albums by Charles Fambrough, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, and Jeff Watts.
Kenny Kirkland, who gained fans and critical raves the world over from his dazzling piano performances with such artists as Branford and Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Garrett and Sting, was found dead in his Queens, New York apartment the morning of Nov. 13. He was 43.
According to New York Police Dept. spokeswoman Carmen Melendez, the 105th Precinct in Queens received a call at around 9:00 PM Nov. 12 from neighbors reporting "a foul odor." Police gained entry to Kirkland's apartment in Queens' Springfield Gardens section shortly after 2:00 AM on Nov. 13 and discovered his body.
Police raised the possibility that his death was drug-related, but as yet had no confirmation, pending the Medical Examiner's report. According to a report in the New York Daily News, police found drug paraphernalia at the scene. Kirkland's friends and colleagues were said to have been long concerned with his reputed substance abuse and poor health.
Jeff Levenson, VP of jazz for Columbia Records, recalled Kirkland as "a very nice person. A guy who had this very self-effacing way around other musicians. He was the last person to recognize how good and how big a talent he was." Kirkland played recent sessions with Branford Marsalis and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts for their respective Columbia albums. The Marsalis and Watts releases, due out next year, are likely to be among Kirkland's final recordings.
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Johannes Zetterberg's debut solo CD "Luna Nueva" - featuring special guests Jay Oliver (Dave Weckl/Dave Weckl Band/AO), Jason Rebello (Sting/Wayne Shorter/Jeff Beck), Eric Marienthal (Chick Corea Elektric Band/Lee Ritenour/The Rippingtons) & Otmaro Ruiz (Frank Gambale/Gino Vannelli/John McLaughlin) - is now available for purchase on CD Baby, Abstract Logix & Itunes!
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New sampler from the upcoming debut CD "Luna Nueva" added!
Featuring (among others): Aron Mellergårdh, Erik Linder, Jens Filipsson & Jonathan Fritzén + special guests: Jay Oliver, Jason Rebello, Eric Marienthal & Otmaro Ruiz.
