Dedicated Jazz singer Johnaye Kendrick is “not just a vocalist,” says the legendary saxophonist Jimmy Heath. “She is a complete musician with a beautiful instrument and open ears.” With her sterling vocals and bright, warm disposition she’s sure to give your kids an exciting and authentic Jazz performance. With her musical group The Johnaye Kendrick Quartet, she will be performing songs that encourage the little ones to sing and dance along—some familiar and some which she has composed exclusively for this morning. With a background in educating at Cornish College of the Arts, Johnaye knows how to tailor a performance for listeners of any age.
Join us for a morning show with beautiful Jazz notes and engaging repartee, and see for yourself why trumpeter Nicholas Payton raves that “Johnaye has the potential to be a vocalist of the highest order, the likes of which we have seen seldom since the grande dames of the golden era of jazz roamed about the earth. She’s got IT!”
The Johnaye Kendrick Quartet features: Johnaye Kendrick with voice, harmonium, compositions, and arrangements; Dawn Clement on piano; Chris Symer on bass; and D’Vonne Lewis on drums.
Johnaye Kendrick has performed at Earshot Jazz Festival, the Royal Room, Chicago Symphony Center, International Jazz Festival Bern, Chihuly Gardens, and more. At the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz she worked with many outstanding jazz musicians, including Terence Blanchard, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, and Brian Blade. She received a DownBeat Student Music Award for Outstanding Jazz Vocalist, and she was nominated for an Earshot Jazz Golden Ear Award as “Northwest Vocalist of the Year.” Johnaye has also been a featured vocalist with the Ellis Marsalis Quartet and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, which won a Grammy in 2009.
