Ray Kennedy (pianist)

Raymond Huston "Ray" Kennedy Jr. (1957 – May 28, 2015) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He was a member of John Pizzarelli's trio for more than a decade and recorded more than 10 albums under his own name.

Ray Kennedy
Background information
Born	1957 Maplewood, Missouri, U.S.
Died	May 28, 2015 New York City, New York, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer, arranger
Instruments	Piano
Associated acts	John Pizzarelli
Website	raykennedy.com

Life and career

Kennedy was born and grew up in Maplewood, Missouri, in 1957.[1] His father was a bandleader, trumpeter and vocalist in the 1930s and 1940s in St. Louis.[2] His mother worked in the Maplewood music store that his parents owned.[2] Kennedy had two siblings: Tom, who became a bassist; and Wanda, who also became a musician.[2] With his brother, he formed The Ray Kennedy Trio at the age of 13, and they played together, including with their sister as vocalist, for five years.[2] According to a biographer of Ruby Braff, Ray and his brother made a recording together in 1972.[3]

Kennedy moved to New York City in his early twenties.[2] He was pianist and arranger for the John Pizzarelli Trio for almost 13 years,[4][5] after joining in 1993.[6] With the John Pizzarelli Trio, Kennedy played with the New York Pops and Boston Pops orchestras, played for Broadway and off-Broadway productions, and toured internationally.[2] Kennedy first recorded with Pizzarelli in 1994, after making two recordings for Randy Sandke.[3] In 1997 he was part of the cast for the musical Dream.[7] In 2003 he recorded a piano duo album with Dick Hyman.[8]

Around 2005, Kennedy, according to John Pizzarelli, "began expressing a desire to get off the road and spend more time with his family".[5] Kennedy developed multiple sclerosis symptoms in 2006.[2] His career had ended by 2013, and he was living in a nursing home.[2] Kennedy died at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York City, on May 28, 2015.[2] He was survived by his wife, Eve Langner, and two daughters, Lauren and Brielle.[2]

Playing style

"Kennedy was known for his finger technique and his ability to swing and improvise versions of well-known jazz works."[2]

Discography

An asterisk (*) indicates that the year is that of release.

As leader/co-leader

Year recorded	Title	Label	Personnel/Notes
	I'm Beginning to See the Light	Victoria	With Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli, Martin Pizzarelli, Ray Brown (bass), Jeff Hamilton (drums)
2000*	The Sound of St. Louis	Victoria
2003	What Is There to Say?	Victoria	Co-led with Dick Hyman; duo, with Hyman (piano)
2005*	The Swing Kings	Victoria	Co-led with Bucky Pizzarelli; with Pizzarelli (guitar), Ken Peplowski (clarinet), Chuck Redd (vibraphone), Martin Pizzarelli (bass), Tony Tedesco (drums)
2005	Mozart in Jazz	Camerata	Trio, with Tom Kennedy (bass), Miles Vandiver (drums)
2006	Plays the Music of Arthur Schwartz	Arbors	Quartet, with Joe Cohn (guitar), Tom Kennedy (bass), Miles Vandiver (drums)
2006	Bach in Jazz	Camerata	Trio, with Tom Kennedy (bass), Miles Vandiver (drums)
2007	Soft Winds	Camerata	Trio, with Tom Kennedy (bass), Lewis Nash (drums)
2007	Baroque in Jazz	Camerata	Trio, with Tom Kennedy (bass), Miles Vandiver (drums)
2008	Classic in Jazz	Camerata	Trio, with Tom Kennedy (bass), Miles Vandiver (drums)
2008	Beethoven in Jazz	Camerata	Trio, with Tom Kennedy (bass), Miles Vandiver (drums)
2009	癒しジャズ	Camerata	with Tom Kennedy (bass), Miles Vandiver (drums), Sumiko Fukatsu (flute), Howard Alden (guitar)

As sideman

Year recorded	Leader	Title	Label
c. 1977	Kenny Rice	The Kenny Rice and Richard Martin Quartet Featuring Nat Adderley	Valley Recorder
1990	Dave Weckl	Master Plan	GRP
1990	Randy Sandke	Stampede	Jazzology
1993	Randy Sandke	I Hear Music	Concord Jazz
1993	John Pizzarelli	Naturally
1994*	John Pizzarelli	New Standards
1994	John Pizzarelli	Dear Mr. Cole	Jive
1995	John Pizzarelli	After Hours	Jive
1995–98	Harry Allen	Harry Allen Meets the John Pizzarelli Trio	RCA
1996*	John Pizzarelli	Let's Share Christmas
1997*	Bucky Pizzarelli and John Pizzarelli	Passion Guitars
1997	John Pizzarelli	Our Love Is Here to Stay
1998*	John Pizzarelli	Meets the Beatles
1999*	John Pizzarelli	P.S. Mr. Cole
1999	John Pizzarelli	Kisses in the Rain	Telarc
2000	John Pizzarelli	Let There Be Love	Telarc
2002	Ruby Braff	Relaxing at the Penthouse	Victoria
2002	Ruby Braff	C'est Magnifique!	Arbors
2003*	John Pizzarelli	Live at Birdland	Telarc
2003*	Jessica Molaskey	A Good Day	PS Classics
2003	John Pizzarelli	Bossa Nova	Telarc
2003	Buddy DeFranco	Cookin' the Books	Arbors
2004*	Martin Pizzarelli	Triple Play	Victoria
2004	John Pizzarelli	Knowing You	Telarc
2007	Harry Allen	Down for the Count

References

1. "Ray Kennedy". npr. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
2. Sorkin, Michael D. (June 3, 2015) "Ray Kennedy, Renowned Jazz Pianist from St. Louis, Dies at 58 from MS". stltoday.com
3. Hustad, Thomas P. (2012) Born to Play: The Ruby Braff Discography and Directory of Performances. Scarecrow. p. 604. ISBN 978-0-8108-8264-5.
4. "Pianist Ray Kennedy Dies at 58". (May 31, 2015) JazzTimes.
5. Pizzarelli & Cosgriff 2012, p. 202.
6. Pizzarelli & Cosgriff 2012, pp. 121–122, 194.
7. Evans, Greg (April 13, 1997) "Review: 'Dream'". Variety.
8. Dryden, Ken "Dick Hyman – What Is There to Say?". AllMusic. Retrieved July 5, 2015.

Bibliography

• Pizzarelli, John; Cosgriff, Joseph (2012). World on a String: A Musical Memoir. John Wiley. ISBN 978-1-118-06297-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)