Herbert Martin "Mart" Kenney (March 7, 1910 - February 8, 2006) was a Canadian jazz musician and bandleader whose big band Mart Kenney and His Western Gentlemen was Canada's premier dance band during the 1930s and 1940s.

Musical career

Born in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Kenney established himself as a leading alto and baritone saxophonist and clarinetist in the 1920s as a member of the CJOR Radio Orchestra and as a sideman to Len Chamberlain at the Hotel Vancouver. The Western Gentleman were first formed in 1931 as a result of an engagement at Vancouver's Alexandra Ballroom, for which he recruited trumpeter-pianist Glen Griffith, trumpeter Jack Hemmings, saxophonist Bert Lister

Bert Lister

Herbert Lister was centre-forward for Oldham Athletic A.F.C., and one of the greatest goalscorers in the clubs history, well known for his diving headers. In 1963 he came close to breaking the all-time record for goals in a single game with his six goals against Southport F.C. on Boxing Day....

 and bassist Hec MacCallum, who would later be joined by drummer Ed Emel and vocalist-saxophonist-pianist Art Hallman. Following their CJOR

CKBD (AM)

CKPK-FM is a radio station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It broadcasts at 100.5 MHz on the FM dial. As of 2008, the station is owned by the Jim Pattison Group and airs an adult album alternative format promoted as "100.5 The Peak"...

 radio debut in 1934, the band would embark on a three-year run at the Waterton Glacier International Peace Park in Waterton Park, Alberta

Waterton Park, Alberta

Waterton Park, commonly referred to as Waterton, is a hamlet in southwestern Alberta, Canada within Improvement District No. 4 Waterton ....

, adopting as its theme song the 1922 Billy Hill-Larry Yoell waltz, "The West, a Nest and You, Dear".

Kenney and his band gained a foothold in network radio in 1935 with the CRBC/CBC

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...

 program 'Sweet and Low' which in turn led to cross-country tours and regular appearances at Toronto's Royal York Hotel

Fairmont Royal York

The Fairmont Royal York Hotel, formerly the Royal York Hotel and still often so called, is a large and historic hotel in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at 100 Front Street West. Opened on June 11, 1929, the Royal York was designed by Ross and Macdonald and built by the Canadian Pacific Railway...

. In 1938 the band began recording with RCA

RCA

RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...

 and by 1951 it had recorded some 25 78s for RCA Victor and Bluebird Records

Bluebird Records

Bluebird Records is a sub-label of RCA Victor Records originally created in 1932 to counter the American Record Company in the "3 records for a dollar" market. Along with ARC's Perfect Records, Melotone Records and Romeo Records, and the independent US Decca label, Bluebird became one of the best...

, as well as two for Dominion

Dominion

A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. They have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland,...

, featuring such hits as "The West, a Nest and You, Dear", "There's Honey on the Moon Tonight,' and the Kenney original 'We're Proud of Canada'.

While originally a septet, Kenney toyed his band's lineup frequently, enlarging it to as many as 30 musicians on some of his recordings. See "Appendix A~ Mart Kenney's Musicians" in Mart Kenney and his western gentlemen for additional details. Western Gentlemen's guitarist (Summer 1937-1942) Tony Bradan

Tony Bradan

Tony Bradan was a Canadian jazz guitarist.-Teaching Method:Four volumes entitled A Learning Approach for Playing the Guitar, based on Tony's handwritten manuscript, have been edited and published by George Arvola of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.-Recordings:Recordings exist with Bobby Gimby, and Mart...

 married former Western Gentelemen's vocalist (1940-late 1943) Judy Richards.

Kenney's retirement and relocation to Mission, British Columbia

Mission, British Columbia

Mission, the core of which was formerly known as Mission City, is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is situated on the north bank of the Fraser River overlooking the City of Abbotsford and with that city is part of the Central Fraser Valley. Mission is the...

, saw the end of the Western Gentlemen. However, he continued to organize orchestras for special occasions such as CBC TV's In the Mood in 1971, and a CNE appearance in 1975, and for engagements throughout the 1980s in the Vancouver area. Kenney was made a member of the Order of Canada

Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

 in 1980, and in 1985 was awarded an honorary LLD

Legum Doctor

Legum Doctor is a doctorate-level academic degree in law, or an honorary doctorate, depending on the jurisdiction. The double L in the abbreviation refers to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both Canon Law and Civil Law, the double L indicating the plural, Doctor of both...

 by the University of Lethbridge

University of Lethbridge

The University of Lethbridge is a publicly-funded comprehensive academic and research university, founded in the liberal education tradition, located in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with two other urban campuses in Calgary and Edmonton. The main building sits among the coulees on the west side of...

.

Politics

Kenney attempted to enter politics in 1968 but lost the Liberal

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 nomination in York North

York North

York North was an electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from Confederation in 1867 until 2004. It is also an electoral district that was represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1867 to 2007...

 to Barney Danson

Barney Danson

Barnett Jerome Danson, was a Canadian politician and Cabinet minister.Barney Danson was born to a Jewish family in Toronto's Parkdale neighbourhood...

 who went on to serve as a cabinet minister under Pierre Trudeau

Pierre Trudeau

Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...

.

Family

In addition to instrumentalists, Kenney also featured numerous singers over the years, most notably Norma Locke aka "Beth" Locke, whom Kenney married in 1952 and who performed with Kenney from 1944 up until his retirement in 1969. Calgary Southeast

Calgary Southeast

Calgary Southeast is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988. The district is in the southeast part of the City of Calgary...

 Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 Jason Kenney

Jason Kenney

Jason T. Kenney, PC, MP is Canada's current Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. He has represented the riding of Calgary Southeast in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997....

 is his grandson.

Death

Kenney died on February 8, 2006, aged 95, following a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's and vascular dementia.

External links

• Swing Band Leader Mart Kenney Dies
• The Canadian Encyclopedia, "Mart Kenney and His Western Gentlemen"
• Mart Kenney and his western gentlemen by Mart Kenney (1981, Western Producer Prairie Books, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)