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Trumpeter Kenny Rampton grew up in Las Vegas, and studied music at both the University of Nevada at Las Vegas and the Berklee College of Music. In 1989, he moved to New York where he quickly established his reputation as one of the most versatile musicians on the scene, touring and performing with a veritable who's who in jazz. Kenny’s first road gig was a world tour with The Ray Charles Orchestra. After leaving Ray Charles’ band, Kenny went on the road with legendary jazz drummer Panama Francis and The Savoy Sultans and soon thereafter, with The Jimmy McGriff Quartet. As a sideman, Kenny has also performed with such greats as Charles Earland, Dr. John, Lionel Hampton, Slide Hampton, Jon Hendricks, Tommy Igoe and The Birdland Big Band, Takeshi Inomata, Illinois Jacquet, Geoff Keezer, The Lincoln Center Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis, Christian McBride, Eijiro Nakagawa, The Chico O’Farrill Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, Dr. Lonnie Smith, The WDR Big Band, Joe Zawinul and a host of others.
Since 1995, Kenny has been a regular member of The Mingus Big Band (playing both lead trumpet and as a featured soloist). Kenny also plays with The Mingus Orchestra, The Mingus Dynasty, Mingus Epitaph (under the direction of Gunther Schuller), George Gruntz' Concert Jazz Band and Bebo Valdez’ Latin Jazz All-Stars (playing both lead trumpet and as a featured soloist). He can be heard regularly at The Iridium and Birdland in NYC and at jazz clubs and festivals worldwide. As leader of the Kenny Rampton Sextet, Kenny has performed internationally as well as in many of New York City’s finest jazz clubs.
Rampton has also done quite a bit of commercial work in New York. Some of his Broadway credits include "Young Frankenstein”, “Chicago: The Musical", “A Chorus Line”, "Spamalot", “The Color Purple”, "The Producers", "The Drowsy Chaperone", "Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me" and "Hot Feet". Kenny can also be heard on many R&B, Blues, Pop and Hip Hop recordings. Some of the “pop” groups Rampton has toured, performed and/or recorded with are Shawn Colvin, Dispatch, Levon Helm and Matchbox Twenty. Rampton is a founding member and co-leader of F-Train, an original, funk based jazz group that features The F-Train Horns. With his horn section (Donny McCaslin-tenor sax, Clark Gayton-trombone), Kenny has backed up many artists on the blues and funk circuit in NY, including blues great Bill Sims and vocal sensation Pat Cisarano.
Kenny has played on countless jingles that include TV and radio adds for Ameritrade, Applebee’s, Arby’s, AT&T, Bell Atlantic, BestBuy.Com, Blistex, Burger King, Charles Schwab, Cheerios, Coca Cola, Disneyland, Dos Equis, Folger’s, Garden Burger, Glade Candles, Gogurt, Head and Shoulders, Hershey’s, Huggies, Hummer, Kohl’s, KoolAid, Lean Cuisine, March of Dimes, Mercedes, Miller Lite, Nair, New York Lotto, Nivea, Old Spice, Pacific Bell, Pampers, Pantene, PEDA, Pillsbury, Popeye’s Chicken, Red Lobster, Sears, Stay Free, Trix, Verizon, Wachovia, Wendy’s, Wheat Thins and York Peppermint Patties.
Recording Credits
- George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, "Tiger By The Tail", 2006
- Roger Davidson, "Pensando en ti", 2006
- George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, "Merryteria", 2000 (featuring one of Ramptons compositions)
- George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, "Renaissance Man", 1998
- F-Train, "Back On Track", 1996
- F-Train, "Live at Cucaracha-NYC", 1996
- Chico O'Farrill, "Carambola", 2000 (Latin Grammy nominated)
- Eijiro Nakagawa and Funk '55, "Eijiro Nakagawa", 1997 (featuring two of Ramptons compositions)
- Takeshi Inomatas New York Jazz Quintet, "Anthropology", 1994
- Lily White, "No Pork, Long Line", 1996
- George Gee and His Make-Believe Ballroom Orchestra, "Swingin' Live!", 1998
- Tabou Combo, "Go Tabou Go", 1992
- Knut Haugsoen and Vikrama, "Experience (Live in Montreal)", 1992
- Hari Karaoke Trio of Doom, "Escape Velocity", 1996
Video
Reviews
- John Fordham, "Mingus Big Band, Ronnie Scott's, London," Guardian (UK), March 13, 2004: "Trumpeter Kenny Rampton's bebop break on Wednesday Night Prayer meeting, however, was the improvisation of the set - precise, beautifully constructed, rhythmically unerring and full of fresh phrasing."
- Robin James, "Spirit of Mingus Soars With His 'Ghost Band,'" Saint Paul Pioneer Press, October 30, 2003: "Handy told the audience to 'Shout if you feel like shouting.' The shouting began with bassist Vicente Archer's opening cadenza of 'Haitian Fight Song,' which led to trumpeter Kenny Rampton's outstanding solo on 'Passion of a Woman Loved.'"
- Jack Massarik, "Charlie's Angels Stay True to Tradition," Evening Standard (London), June 26, 2003: "Listening to the Mingus band with Sue Mingus sitting in the next seat (a totally unplanned happenstance) is an experience worth sharing. ... 'Fables Of Faubus,' that magnificent debunking of a racist Arkansas governor, featured trumpeter Kenny Rampton in fluent form..."
- Don Heckman, "Fitting Tributes to an Enigmatic Talent," Los Angeles Times, April 7, 2002: "Credit also goes to the Mingus Big Band's brilliant musicians, especially alto saxophonist Alex Foster, trombonists Conrad Herwig and Ku-umba Frank Lacy, trumpeters Kenny Rampton and Alex Sipiagin, and [Ronnie] Cuber, all of whom played important roles in bringing a gripping program to life."
- "Soloists Breathe Freely," The Age (Melbourne, Australia), January 28, 2002: "There were striking solos from almost every member of the band, including an ecstatic, swirling statement from tenor saxophonist John Stubblefield that maintained itself over an entire chorus, and a casually virtuosic stint from trumpeter Kenny Rampton, who neatly negotiated the sudden shifts in mood and tempo that [bassist Boris] Kozlov and drummer Jonathan Blake cooked up beneath him."
- Jack Massarik, "Doctor Lonnie Steals the Show," Evening Standard (London), November 2, 2000, review of concert with Jimmy McGriff and Lonnie Smith at Ronnie Scott's Club: "Rampton, a shadowy, barrel-chested figure poised downstage in a Blues Brothers trilby and shades, took some fine trumpet solos, full of growls and half-valve effects. On the ballads his quiet, furry sound evoked memories of the great Lee Morgan. No question, this Rampton could become a blues institution."
- "Foster Inspires Swirling Head of Steam: Mingus Big Band," Manchester Evening News (UK), July 22, 2000: "The outfit was strong on soloists, with Kenny Rampton reaching inspired heights in Fables Of Faubus, Mingus's vociferous anti-racist piece, in which the trumpeter used his technical and improvisatory talents to create a moving amalgam of melancholy and acerbity."
- Ben Ratliff, "A Premiere (Cut Short) And a Bit of History," New York Times, September 4, 1996: The Mingus Big Band "was formed to show the beauty of Mingus's tussling, multi-layered charts, where mottled brass, shifting tempo and sweet blues lyricism are all of a piece. But it has also become a great solo-spotlight group for New York's unsung jazz talent, and through 'Reincarnation of a Lovebird,' 'Gunslinging Bird' and others, it gave concise space to various styles: Chris Potter's mercurial be-bop classicism on alto saxophone, Frank Lacy's wild-card trombone whinnying and Kenny Rampton's smooth, cool trumpet inventions."
- Ben Ratliff, "Prodding His Big Band Into Ever Hotter Rhythms," New York Times, July 26, 1996 (review of performance at Smalls in Greenwich Village with Jason Lindner): "Kenny Rampton's trumpet solos alternated lancing shouts and sleek melodic improvising."
- Keith Bruce, "Memorable Coup Provides Storming Finale," The Herald (Glasgow, Scotland), July 10, 1995 (review of performance with the Mingus Big Band): "Trumpeter Kenny Rampton and pianist Kenny Drew Jr. also won loud cheers at the end of the night for their solo work on Invisible Lady and elsewhere."
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