Matt Kendrick
Encyclopedia
Matt Kendrick is a double bass
ist and composer
. Born in Greenville
, North Carolina
, U.S.
, he currently lives in Winston-Salem
. Kendrick graduated from High School in Winston-Salem, where his family moved in 1961, before attending the North Carolina School of the Arts
for three years.
He then moved to New York City
, where he became immersed in much avant garde jazz music. From there, he move to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he studied under Jerry Coker and, for a time, played with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra's
bass section.
Kendrick is currently an instructor at Wake Forest University
in Electric Bass and Jazz Improvisation.
s with his band, the Matt Kendrick Unit, four on his own label, Suitcase Music, and one on Ichiban Records
. These releases contain over forty compositions by Kendrick himself, and have received air play and critical acclaim across the United States
.
Other than his own band, which plays in functions across the South-East of the United States, Matt has recently played with Marian McPartland
, Ernie Watts
, Gene Bertoncini
and Joanne Brackeen
, the last of whom guest starred with the Matt Kendrick Unit. He has also performed alongside Archie Shepp
and Jaki Byard
at Secca in Winston-Salem.
Matt Kendrick has also written music for film - his credits include The Dark Power (starring Lash LaRue, The Darien Gap (2nd Place at the Sundance Festival) and Weather or Not.
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
ist and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. Born in Greenville
Greenville, North Carolina
Greenville is the county seat of Pitt County and principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain and in 2008 was listed as the Tenth Largest City in North Carolina...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, he currently lives in Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
. Kendrick graduated from High School in Winston-Salem, where his family moved in 1961, before attending the North Carolina School of the Arts
North Carolina School of the Arts
The University of North Carolina School of the Arts , formerly the North Carolina School of the Arts, is a public coeducational arts conservatory in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that grants high school, undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is one of the seventeen constituent campuses of the...
for three years.
He then moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he became immersed in much avant garde jazz music. From there, he move to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he studied under Jerry Coker and, for a time, played with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra's
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra is a professional orchestra in Knoxville, Tennessee.The orchestra was established in 1935 and is the oldest continuing orchestra in the southeastern United States. The founding conductor was Bertha Walburn Clark, who led the group until 1946...
bass section.
Kendrick is currently an instructor at Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...
in Electric Bass and Jazz Improvisation.
Music
Matt Kendrick has produced and recorded five CDAlbum
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s with his band, the Matt Kendrick Unit, four on his own label, Suitcase Music, and one on Ichiban Records
Ichiban Records
Ichiban Records was a hip hop record label founded in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1985. Wrap Records and Nastymix Records were some of its subsidiary labels. Urgent! Records was distributed by Ichiban. Most of its discography is now out of print. Besides hip hop groups, Ichiban also released albums by...
. These releases contain over forty compositions by Kendrick himself, and have received air play and critical acclaim across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Other than his own band, which plays in functions across the South-East of the United States, Matt has recently played with Marian McPartland
Marian McPartland
Margaret Marian McPartland, OBE is an English-born jazz pianist, composer, writer, and the host of Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz on National Public Radio, NPR.-Early life:...
, Ernie Watts
Ernie Watts
Ernest James "Ernie" Watts is an American jazz and rhythm and blues musician. He plays saxophone and flute. He might be best known for his work with Charlie Haden's Quartet West and his Grammy Awards as an instrumentalist...
, Gene Bertoncini
Gene Bertoncini
-Biography:Bertoncini was born in New York City, where he was raised in a musical family. His father played guitar and harmonica. Bertoncini began playing guitar at age seven and by age sixteen was appearing on television. He graduated from high school and attended the University of Notre Dame,...
and Joanne Brackeen
Joanne Brackeen
Joanne Brackeen is an American jazz pianist and music educator.-Biography:She was born Joanne Grogan in Ventura, California. She attended the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music, but devoted herself to jazz by imitating Frankie Carle albums...
, the last of whom guest starred with the Matt Kendrick Unit. He has also performed alongside Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp is a prominent African-American jazz saxophonist. Shepp is best known for his passionately Afrocentric music of the late 1960s, which focused on highlighting the injustices faced by the African-Americans, as well as for his work with the New York Contemporary Five, Horace Parlan, and...
and Jaki Byard
Jaki Byard
Jaki Byard was an American jazz pianist and composer who also played trumpet and saxophone, among several other instruments. He was noteworthy for his eclectic style, incorporating everything from ragtime and stride to free jazz...
at Secca in Winston-Salem.
Matt Kendrick has also written music for film - his credits include The Dark Power (starring Lash LaRue, The Darien Gap (2nd Place at the Sundance Festival) and Weather or Not.
Grants and Fellowships
Kendrick has also won many grants and fellowships. The most well-recognised of these is the North Carolina Jazz Composers Fellowship, which he has won twice, in 1988 and 1994. This prize, of five to eight thousand dollars, has facilitated much of his recorded output.With the Matt Kendrick Unit
- Bass City (1988)
- Unity & Alienation (1991)
- Art Jazz (1995) - recommended by an editor of Cadence Magazine as a CD pick of the year.
Others
- Other Aspects (1992) - recorded with pianist Fred HerschFred HerschFred Hersch is a contemporary American jazz pianist who has become a consistent and highly demanded performer on the international jazz scene....
- The Omen Seeker (1995) by the Al Neese Quintet, featuring Matt Kendrick