Tonight Show keyboardist Kenny Kirkland dies, apparently ODs
Steve Timko
have any ties to any of the other CBS Orchestra musicians?
Kenny Kirkland: A sideman to the finish
By LARRY McSHANE
AP National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- Seventeen years after he was ``discovered'' by
Wynton Marsalis, the police found Kenny Kirkland.
The brilliant pianist was dead in his bedroom, the victim of an
apparent drug overdose. He was alone in a rented Queens home, a
weather-beaten, two-story outpost closer to suburban Long Island than
Manhattan's nightlife. Drug paraphernalia lay nearby.
The 43-year-old had been dead for several days; police were unsure
when he had last left the gray house. A detective said the home was in
perfect order when police were summoned by neighbors in the early
morning hours of Nov. 13.
Kirkland's sudden demise caused barely a ripple of media attention
-- a perfect analogy for his career, where the genre-hopping
keyboardist was long content as a sideman rather than the star.
His name didn't spark instant recognition, but Kirkland's gigs
did: playing with Wynton Marsalis' ``Young Traditionalists''; an
integral role in Branford Marsalis' jazz quartet and Sting's rock
ensemble; a spot in the ``Tonight Show'' band.
``Kenny Kirkland really embodied the essence of a generation of
musicians, bridging the past and future while taking no bows,''
recalled ``Tonight'' show bandleader Kevin Eubanks.
``A musical genius. ... One of the kindest, most loving men I
know,'' offered friend and collaborator Branford Marsalis. But like
other jazz greats from Charlie Parker to Jaco Pastorius, Kirkland died
too young -- an apparent victim of lifestyle excesses.
No one will say what kind of drugs Kirkland was using pending the
medical examiner's toxicology report.
Marsalis, while acknowledging Kirkland's ``darker side,'' said
that the past year, the keyboardist had made the decision that he
wanted to live. But the dark side seemed to have triumphed in
Kirkland's final days.
``Kenny's legacy is that of a great musician, and not merely
someone who spent his life fighting his demons,'' the saxophonist
said.
Kirkland's resume certainly supports that legacy.
Playing behind charismatic front men like the Marsalis brothers
and Sting, Kirkland brought his unique, eclectic blend of jazz, pop
and rhythm and blues to their visions.
The short, stocky musician only recorded one solo album in his
two-decade career, the self-titled ``Kenny Kirkland,'' which came out
in 1991. ``A first-rate contemporary jazz album,'' wrote Los Angeles
Times reviewer Don Heckman in one of several critical kudos for the
CD.
But Kirkland preferred the role of sideman and studio musician. He
played on a vast assortment of albums, everything from Chaka Khan to
Crosby, Stills & Nash.
Kirkland, who grew up loving the music of Sly Stone, James Brown
and the Temptations, took up music at the age of 6, eventually leaving
his native Brooklyn to study at the Manhattan School of Music. One
month before graduation, he was badly injured in a serious car wreck
that left him with a lifelong limp.
While Wynton Marsalis often received credit for discovering
Kirkland, the keyboardist already had a reputation before the Pulitzer
Prize-winning trumpeter hired him during a 1981 tour of Japan.
During the 1970s, Kirkland had played behind rhythm and blues
queens Khan and Angela Bofill, and backed up jazz greats like Elvin
Jones and Dizzy Gillespie. He was on tour with another band in Japan
when Wynton Marsalis lured him away.
``People are always talking about my career starting with
Wynton,'' Kirkland said in a 1993 interview. ``I did a lot of
different things. ... Whoever had work, I would try to do it, whatever
it was.''
After five years with Wynton's band, he bolted in 1985 for a new
group fronted by ex-police leader Sting. Wynton Marsalis accused him
of selling out, but Kirkland's collaborations with Sting continued for
a decade.
When Branford Marsalis introduced Kirkland to Sting in January
1985, he offered this caveat: ``Do not underestimate him, man.''
Within an hour, Sting had found his keyboard player: ``Such taste and
restraint,'' the English rocker marveled after hearing Kirkland play.
Kirkland became an anchor in Sting's all-star band, which included
Marsalis on sax, Darryl Jones on bass and Omar Hakim on drums.
Kirkland's familiar gap-toothed smile graced the sleeve of Sting's
first solo album, ``The Dream of the Blue Turtles.'' The same band
played on its follow-up, ``... Nothing Like the Sun''; Kirkland also
performed on Sting's ``Soul Cages'' and ``Mercury Falling'' albums.
International tours followed, with Kirkland comfortably off to the
side of the stage.
Kirkland's immersion in the mainstream continued when he joined
Branford Marsalis in the ``Tonight Show'' band from 1992-95. Kirkland
left when Marsalis did, opting for work as a popular session player.
His last public appearance was with Branford Marsalis' jazz
quartet in August at a Manhattan jazz festival. Kirkland then settled
into the Queens home where he died, blending in quietly among the
neighbors.
One week after his death, the house on 145th Avenue in Springfield
Gardens remained vacant. The only signs of the tragedy were a neon
green New York Police Department crime scene sticker on the front
door, and a porch light that burned despite the afternoon sun.
One day after Kirkland's death, jazz keyboardist John Beasley's
quartet took the stage in a California club. Three members of the
``Tonight Show'' band -- saxophonist Ralph Moore, bassist Bob Hurst
and drummer Marvin Smith -- warmed up with him.
``With Kenny in mind,'' said Beasley.
And the band played a song of farewell for Kenny Kirkland.
WARNING: The above message may contain an attempt at humor.
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Check out a gathering of Letterman fans in New York.
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Donz5
>Donz, I suspect he's never played with Paul, but does Kenny Kirkland
>have any ties to any of the other CBS Orchestra musicians?
Very sad to hear about Kirkland. He was a great keyboard player.
From my super-slow, antiquated database:
c. April, 1979: recording sessions for John Scofield LP "Who's Who":
John Scofield (guitar)
--> Steve Jordan (drums)
Kenny Kirkland (keyboards)
Anthony Jackson (bass)
Sammy Figueroa (percussion)
March 4 and 26, 1980: recording sessions for Kazumi Watanabe's LP "To Chi Ka":
Track 1:
Joe Caro (guitar)
Kenny Kirkland (keyboards)
Marcus Miller (bass)
--> Steve Jordan (drums)
December 31, 1981: Seventh Avenue South: AWB Minus 2, featuring:
--> Will Lee (bass)
Randy Brecker (trumpet)
Kenny Kirkland (keyboard)
Joe Caro (guitar)
November 1, 1982: Peppermint Lounge: Sonny Tritt Tribute, featuring:
Omar Hakim (drums)
Kenny Kirkland (keyboard)
--> Will Lee (bass)
Michael Brecker (sax)
(and many others)
May 18-19, 1983: Seventh Avenue South: Bob Mintzer:
Bob Mintzer (saxophone)
--> Will Lee (bass)
Kenny Kirkland (keyboards)
Peter Erskine (drums)
Frankie Mallabe
Chuck Loeb (guitar)
September 1-2, 1983: Seventh Avenue South: Doc Powell:
Doc Powell (guitar)
Yogi Horton (drums)
--> Paul Shaffer (keyboard)
Kenny Kirkland (keyboard)
Tom Barney (bass)
Lou Cortelezzi
Steve Kroon (percussion)
Phil Balloon
April 24-29, 1984: Lush Life: Bob Mintzer All-Stars:
Bob Mintzer (saxophone)
Randy Brecker (trumpet)
Kenny Kirkland (keyboards)
--> Will Lee (bass)
Lenny White (drums)
October 19-20, 1984: Seventh Avenue South: Mike Stern:
Mike Stern (guitar)
Bob Berg (saxophone)
Kenny Kirkland (keyboards)
Peter Erskine (drums)
--> Will Lee (bass)
May-August, 1986: recording sessions for Hiram Bullock's "From All Sides":
--> Hiram Bullock (guitar)
--> Will Lee (bass)
Charley Drayton (drums)
Cliff Carter (keyboards)
Others:
Kenny Kirkland (keyboards)
Dr. Gibbs (percussion)
David Sanborn (alto sax)
Michael Brecker (tenor sax)
Uptown Horns (Crispin Cioe -alto and baritone sax; Bob Funk -trombone; Arno
Hecht -tenor sax; Hollywood Paul Litteral -trumpet)
Delmar Brown (keyboards)
October 31-November 1, 1986: Mikell's: Denny Morouse:
Denny Morouse (saxophone)
--> Hiram Bullock (guitar)
Kenny Kirkland (keyboards)
Richie Morales (drums)
Paul Scoclow
Don Alias (percussion)
Beast of Bourbon
>Kenny Kirkland: A sideman to the finish
>By LARRY McSHANE
>AP National Writer
thanks for posting that
Dave Mackey
> One day after Kirkland's death, jazz keyboardist John Beasley's
>quartet took the stage in a California club. Three members of the
>``Tonight Show'' band -- saxophonist Ralph Moore, bassist Bob Hurst
>and drummer Marvin Smith -- warmed up with him.
> ``With Kenny in mind,'' said Beasley.
> And the band played a song of farewell for Kenny Kirkland.
What's weird about this was that Moore and Smith didn't play in the TSB with
Kirkland. Both joined the show after Marsalis left and took original drummer
Jeff "Tain" Watts with him. I'm sure they may have known Kirkland from other
gigs, but not on the Tonight Show.
Anyway, I'm very shocked to hear of the death of Kenny Kirkland. I really
think he, Branford, Omar Hakim and the other fine muscians were the stars of
Sting's "Dream Of The Blue Turtles" album.
--
Dave Mackey
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