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Kevin Mahogany
 With
his gift for bebop, ballads, blues, and swinging jazz, Kevin Mahogany's
talents emerged long before he was old enough to spell" record deal".
"When I was a kid, music was just as important as English and math in
our household" says Kansas-City-born, Kevin Mahogany. "In fact piano
lessons were a grade school staple for the whole family."
By 1970 after starting on piano and moving to clarinet, 12 year-old
Kevin was playing the baritone saxophone. That same year he first
played professionally with Eddie Baker's "New Breed Orchestra".
But it was during his senior year in high school that his true talent
was discovered- singing.
When Kevin got to Baker University, he performed with various
instrumental and vocal ensembles. He was allowed to form his own vocal
jazz choir while at Baker. After graduating, he returned to his roots
in Kansas City where Kevin attracted a huge following. All the
while, Kevin was continuing to develop his own style following artist
like, Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, Al Jarreau and Eddie Jefferson.
In February 1993, Kevin’s debut album " Double Rainbow" hit the record
stores.
Its seldom-heard ballads, bop tunes and blues were met with instant
acclaim. In 1995 Kevin joined with Warner Brothers and the next
year released the self -titled CD," Kevin Mahogany". "Another Time,
Another Place", “My Romance”, and "Portrait of Kevin Mahogany" closed
out the next three years of Kevin at Warner Brothers.
After a short hiatus, Kevin returned to the scene in 2002 with Telarc
records and released "Pride and Joy" , a tribute to the music of the
great Motown era. The shaping of these tunes became very important to
Kevin." When you listen to the artist that we respect and call the
masters of jazz, they were doing the same thing, performing the music
of their youth." Kevin continued," I want to do the same, and continue
the tradition."
The latest venture for Kevin Mahogany has him stretching his wings and
adding the title of "entrepreneur", to his resume. He has started his
own label, "Mahogany Jazz", and has two projects scheduled for release.
"Kevin Mahogany -Big Band", and "To: Johnny Hartman", a tribute to the
incredible vocalist of the 1940-70's.
With eleven CD's as a leader, and quite a few as a sideman, Kevin has
proved to be the quintessential jazz vocalist. Newsweek describes him
as " the standout jazz vocalist of his generation." New Yorker magazine
writer Whitney Balliet writes, "There is little Mahogany cannot do."
Says the LA TIMES, " Mahogany is one of the first truly gifted male
vocalists to emerge in years."
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