Kevin Bryant Mahogany (July 30, 1958 – December 17, 2017) was an American
jazz vocalist who became prominent in the 1990s. Particularly known for his
scat singing
In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, the singer improvises melodies and rhythms using the voice as an instrument rather than a speaking medium. ...
, his singing style has been compared with those of
Billy Eckstine,
Joe Williams and
Johnny Hartman
John Maurice Hartman (July 3, 1923 – September 15, 1983) was an American jazz singer who specialized in ballads. He sang and recorded with Earl Hines' and Dizzy Gillespie's big bands and with Erroll Garner. Hartman is best remembered for his ...
.
Early years
Mahogany began his study of music as a child with
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
and later learned to play the
clarinet and
baritone saxophone, performing with
jazz bands and teaching music while still in high school.
He said, "When I was a kid, music was just as important as English and math in our household... Piano lessons were a grade school staple for the whole family." He attended
Baker University
Baker University is a private university in Baldwin City, Kansas. Founded in 1858, it was the first four-year university in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baker University is made up of four schools. The College of Ar ...
, where he performed with instrumental and vocal ensembles and formed a vocal jazz group. In 1981, he received his BFA in music and English drama.
Performing
After graduating, Mahogany returned to
Kansas City, where he attracted a local following in the 1980s performing with his groups "The Apollos" and "Mahogany". In 1995 he was featured on a CD by
Frank Mantooth
Frank Mantooth (April 11, 1947 in Tulsa, Oklahoma – January 30, 2004 in Garden City, Kansas) was an American jazz pianist and arranger.
Mantooth attended University of North Texas College of Music, graduating in 1969, then played in and arrang ...
.
Mahogany's first CD as a solo artist was ''Double Rainbow'' (1993). It was followed by the album ''Kevin Mahogany'' (1996), which gained positive attention in the media, and prompted ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
'' to call Mahogany "the standout jazz vocalist of his generation."
Mahogany appeared in
Robert Altman's film ''
Kansas City'' (1996), playing a character said to be based on Kansas City singer
Big Joe Turner.
In 1997, Mahogany was featured on the soundtrack to Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil singing Laura, written by Johnny Mercer.
He has listed his vocal influences as
Lambert, Hendricks and Ross
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross were an American vocalese trio formed by jazz vocalists Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross. From 1962 to 1964, Ross was replaced by vocalist Yolande Bavan.
History
The group formed in 1957 and recorded their f ...
,
Al Jarreau and
Eddie Jefferson
Eddie Jefferson (August 3, 1918 – May 9, 1979) was an American jazz vocalist and lyricist. He is credited as an innovator of vocalese, a musical style in which lyrics are set to an instrumental composition or solo. Jefferson himself claims t ...
.
He has taught at the
Berklee College of Music in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
and the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...
.
In 2016, he was featured on the track "Special Girl" on the CD ''
Bang & Classic'' by Polish rapper
Bosski Roman.
Death
Mahogany died on December 17, 2017 from the effects of diabetes. He was 59.
Discography
As leader
* ''Double Rainbow'' (Enja, 1993)
* ''Songs and Moments'' (Enja, 1994)
* ''You Got What It Takes'' (Enja, 1995)
* ''Kevin Mahogany'' (Warner Bros., 1996)
* ''Another Time Another Place'' (Warner Bros., 1997)
* ''My Romance'' (Warner Bros., 1998)
* ''Pussy Cat Dues: The Music of Charles Mingus'' (Enja, 2000)
* ''Pride & Joy'' (Telarc, 2002)
* ''Big Band'' (Zebra, 2005)
* ''The Vienna Affair'' (Cracked AnEgg, 2015)
As sideman
*
Monty Alexander
Montgomery Bernard "Monty" Alexander (born 6 June 1944) is a Jamaican jazz pianist. His playing has a Caribbean influence and bright swinging feeling, with a strong vocabulary of bebop jazz and blues rooted melodies. He was influenced by Louis ...
, ''My America'' (Telarc, 2002)
*
Cheryl Bentyne, ''Moonlight Serenade'' (King, 2003)
*
Ray Brown, ''Some of My Best Friends Are...Singers'' (Telarc, 1998)
*
Elvin Jones
Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era.
Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebrate ...
, ''
It Don't Mean a Thing
"It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" is a 1931 composition by Duke Ellington with lyrics by Irving Mills. It is now accepted as a jazz standard, and jazz historian Gunther Schuller characterized it as "now legendary" and "a prophe ...
'' (Enja, 1993)
*
Tony Lakatos
Antal "Tony" Lakatos (born 13 November 1958 in Budapest) is a Hungarian Jazz saxophonist (tenor, soprano saxophone), who currently lives in Frankfurt (Germany).
Lakatos attended the Béla Bartók Conservatory in Budapest from 1975 to 1980, then ...
, ''The Coltrane Hartman Fantasy Vol. 1'' (Skip, 2010)
*
Frank Mantooth
Frank Mantooth (April 11, 1947 in Tulsa, Oklahoma – January 30, 2004 in Garden City, Kansas) was an American jazz pianist and arranger.
Mantooth attended University of North Texas College of Music, graduating in 1969, then played in and arrang ...
, ''Sophisticated Lady'' (Sea Breeze, 1995)
*
T. S. Monk
Thelonious Sphere "T. S." Monk III (born December 27, 1949) is an American jazz drummer, composer and bandleader. He is the son of jazz pianist Thelonious Monk.
Biography
Born in New York City, he began his music career early in his life, honin ...
, ''Monk on Monk'' (N2K Encoded, 1991)
*
Marlena Shaw
Marlena Shaw (born Marlina Burgess, September 22, 1942) is an American jazz, blues and soul singer. Shaw began her singing career in the 1960s and is still singing today. Her music has often been sampled in hip hop music, and used in television ...
, ''Dangerous'' (Concord Jazz, 1996)
*
Roseanna Vitro
Roseanna Elizabeth Vitro (born February 28, 1951) is a jazz singer and teacher from Arkansas.
Biography
Born Roseanna Elizabeth VitroScott Fredrickson and Gary W. Kennedy.Vitro (Wickliffe), Roseanna" In ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', 2 ...
, ''Passion Dance'' (Telarc, 1996)
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahogany, Kevin
1958 births
2017 deaths
Musicians from Kansas City, Missouri
American jazz singers
Baker University alumni
Berklee College of Music faculty
Enja Records artists
University of Miami faculty
Singers from Missouri
Jazz musicians from Missouri
20th-century African-American male singers
21st-century African-American male singers