Kendra Shank
Kendra Shank | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 23, 1958 Woodland, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1980s–present |
| Labels | Mapleshade, Jazz Focus, Challenge |
| Website | www |
Kendra Shank (born April 23, 1958) is an American jazz vocalist.
Career
[edit | edit source]Shank's mother was an actress and playwright and her father was a playwright[1] and teacher at the University of California.[2] When she was five, she appeared onstage with her mother in Threepenny Opera.[3] In her early teens she started playing guitar.[4][1]
Shank attended Pacific Lutheran University and the University of Washington, receiving a degree in art and French.[1] During the 1980s, she performed in clubs in Seattle as a folk singer, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar. In 1989 she studied with jazz vocalist Jay Clayton[1] at Cornish College of the Arts.[5] She was a busker on the streets and subways of Paris and while in Paris heard her first Billie Holiday album.[1] Although she had been working as a folk singer in clubs, she bought a method book to learn a few jazz standards.[1]
In the early 1990s, she went on tour with Bob Dorough.[1] Shirley Horn saw her perform and became a mentor, introducing at the Village Vanguard in 1992.[5] Mapleshade released Shank's debut album Afterglow on which she sang and played guitar.[6] She met pianist Frank Kimbrough through Horn, and he became a member of her quartet, which recorded A Spirit Free (Challenge, 2007), a tribute to her mentor and friend Abbey Lincoln.[3] She has also recorded with Gary Bartz, Peter Leitch, Ben Monder, John Stowell, and Larry Willis, among others.
Discography
[edit | edit source]As leader
[edit | edit source]- Afterglow with Larry Willis, Gary Bartz (Mapleshade, 1994)
- Wish (Jazz Focus, 1998)
- Reflections (Jazz Focus, 2000)
- A Spirit Free: Abbey Lincoln Songbook (Challenge, 2006)
- Mosaic (Challenge, 2009)
- New York Conversations with John Stowell (TCB, 2013)
- Half Moon: Live in New York with Geoffrey Keezer (Ride Symbol, 2016)
As guest
[edit | edit source]- Abbey Lincoln, Over the Years (Verve, 2000)
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b c d e f g Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
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