Kamau Kenyatta
Kamau Kenyatta in 2014
Background information
Born (1955-06-27) June 27, 1955
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • record producer
  • arranger
  • film composer
  • jazz educator
Instrument(s)Piano, soprano sax
Years active1972–present

Kamau Kenyatta (born June 27, 1955) is a Grammy Award-winning record producer. He is a musician, arranger, film composer, and educator.[1] He is a Teaching Professor at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).

Life and career

Kenyatta was born in Detroit, Michigan.[1] A long-time collaborator with vocalist Gregory Porter, he produced Porter's debut album Water (2010), which was nominated for a Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammy. In 2013, he served as associate producer and arranger for Gregory Porter's Blue Note Records debut album, Liquid Spirit.[2] In February 2014, the recording won a Grammy Award in the Best Jazz Vocal Album category.[2] In 2016, releases of his productions included Gregory Porter's Take Me to the Alley, Ed Motta's Perpetual Gateways, and Steph Johnson's Music Is Art. In February 2017, Kenyatta won a Grammy for his co-production of Take Me to the Alley in the Best Jazz Vocal Album category.[3] Production projects released in 2019 include a self-titled album for vocalist Daneen Wilburn [4] and Intuition: Songs From The Minds Of Women for Alicia Olatuja.[5] In 2020, Kamau's productions of Paulette McWilliams’ A Woman’s Story [6] and Gregory Porter’s All Rise [7] were released. His productions of Allan Harris’ Kate’s Soulfood [8] and Gregory Porter's Still Rising [9] were released in 2021. Kamau directed the recording of horns and background vocals for Ed Motta's 2023 release, Behind The Tea Chronicles.[10]

As a film composer, Kenyatta worked with Hubert Laws to create the score for Small Steps, Big Strides (1997), a Fox network documentary detailing the history of African-American film. Kenyatta also composed the soundtrack for Carroll Parrot Blue's The Dawn at My Back,[11] an interactive memoir that won the Online Film Festival Jury Award for Short Filmmaking New Forms at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.[12][13][14] In 2015, Kenyatta scored the film Spirits of Rebellion by director Zeinabu Irene Davis. In 2016, after the international success of Liquid Spirit, he scored the Gregory Porter biopic Don't Forget Your Music. The film was released in the UK in the fall of 2016.[15] Kenyatta released the music from the film under his own name in a project called The Elegant Sadness.[16]

As an educator, Kenyatta has worked from 1999 to the present at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).[17]

Discography

  • Destiny (2007)[15]
  • The Elegant Sadness (2019)[16]

Awards and Nominations

Educator Awards
Year Award Faculty Location Result
May 2009 Barbara J. and Paul D. Saltman Distinguished Teaching Award [15][18][19][20] Kamau Kenyatta University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Won
Grammy Awards
Year Nominated Work Artist Award Result
2017 Take Me to the Alley Gregory Porter Best Jazz Vocal Album[15][21][22] Won

References

  1. 1 2 Miller, Cam (November 4, 2009). "Californian: Sax man or piano man? Kenyatta is both". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Roos, Meghan (January 29, 2014). "Kamau Kenyatta, Associate Producer of Grammy-winning Best Jazz Vocal Album". UC San Diego's Department of Music. UC San Diego; Division of Arts & Humanities. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  3. ↑ Roos, Meghan (February 16, 2017). "Kamau Kenyatta Wins Grammy Award". UC San Diego's Department of Music. UC San Diego; Division of Arts & Humanities. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  4. ↑ Wilburn, Daneen (July 23, 2018). "Daneen Wilburn". Daneen Wilburn Music. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  5. ↑ Willis, Samantha (2019). "Alicia Olatuja Has Faith in Her Voice". Downbeat. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  6. ↑ Paulette, McWilliams (June 30, 2020). "Paulette McWilliams - A Woman's Story". Discogs. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  7. ↑ Porter, Gregory (August 28, 2020). "All Rise by Gregory Porter". AllMusic. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  8. ↑ Harris, Allan (February 12, 2021). "Kate's Soulfood by Allan Harris". Bandcamp. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  9. ↑ Porter, Gregory (November 5, 2021). "Still Rising: The Collection by Gregory Porter". AllMusic. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  10. ↑ Motta, Ed (October 20, 2023). "Ed Motta - Behind the Tea Chronicles". Discogs. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  11. ↑ Parrott Blue, Carroll (2004). "The Dawn at My Back: Memoir of a Black Texas Upbringing" (PDF). Houston History Magazine. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  12. ↑ Everett, Morgan (2004). "2004 Sundance Film Festival". Sundance Institute. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  13. ↑ Everett, Morgan (2004). "The Dawn at My Back: Memoir of a Black Texas Upbringing". Sundance Institute. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  14. ↑ Kelley, Shannon (2003). "The Dawn at My Back: Memoir of a Black Texas Upbringing". UCLA Film & Television Archive. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Bush, Robert (2000). "Kamau Kenyatta". San Diego Reader. San Diego Reader. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  16. 1 2 Bush, Robert (October 31, 2019). "The Elegant Sadness of Kamau Kenyatta". San Diego Reader. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  17. ↑ Roos, Meghan (2014). "Adjunct Faculty". UC San Diego's Department of Music. UC San Diego; Division of Arts & Humanities. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  18. ↑ George, Varga (September 24, 2016). "Grammy winners Kamau Kenyatta and Gregory Porter share tight musical bond". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  19. ↑ Bush, Robert (February 23, 2017). "Kamau Kenyatta receives 2nd Grammy!". International Academy of Jazz, San Diego (IAJSD). International Academy of Jazz, San Diego (IAJSD). Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  20. ↑ Roos, Meghan (2020). "Kamau Kenyatta". University of California, San Diego: Department of Music. University of California, San Diego: Division of Arts & Humanities. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Grammy Award Results for Kamau Kenyatta". The Recording Academy. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  22. ↑ Bush, Robert (February 22, 2017). "Kamau's gold: San Diego musician/producer Kamau Kenyatta wins another Grammy". San Diego Reader. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
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