kevin mahogany
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BIO
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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. 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. Throughout high school he played in marching and concert bands, orchestras and stage bands as well as continuing his professional playing with Eddie Baker. 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 and played with a couple of bands before forming two groups: MAHOGANY, a cross between contemporary R&B and jazz and THE APOLLOS a 60’s R&B dance band. Both groups allowed Kevin to attract a huge following in the Kansas City area throughout the 80’s. All the while, Kevin was continuing to develop his own style following artist like Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, Al Jarreau, and Eddie Jefferson. In 1991, the NRE Trio heard Kevin while on tour in Kansas City and invited him to tour with them. Shortly thereafter, Kevin was introduced to Frank Mantooth and a friendship developed that had Kevin being featured on Frank’s next CD.
In February 1993, Kevin Debut album “Double Rainbow” hit the record stores. Its seldom-heard ballads, bop tunes and blues were met with instant acclaim. He recorded three more, well received records: “Songs and Moments”, “You Got What It Takes”, and “Pussy Cat Dues” with the independent German record label ENJA.
In 1995 Kevin joined 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 TELARK 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 with his partner Rick Cioffi, and has two exciting new projects: “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.