Kendra Shank Quartet at Jazz at Kitano

The Kendra Shank Quartet, featuring Kendra Shank (voice), Frank Kimbrough (piano), Dean Johnson (bass), and Tony Moreno (drums) will celebrate their 13th-year Anniversary of collaboration in a special appearance at Jazz at Kitano on Wednesday, August 15, 2012, with shows at 8 PM and 10 PM. Reservations Advised: 212-885-7119.

The ensemble's spontaneous group interplay has been described as "...a practically telepathic integration...these four people appear to have emerged from the same womb" (Lawrence Brazier, Jazz Now). In his review of their Mosaic album, Christopher Loudon noted the years spent "tightening their exemplary unit, and the triumph of their solidity is evident throughout this stunningly inventive pastiche of covers and originals" (Jazz Times), while George Kanzler wrote in Hot House: "their music seems quite a bit freer and more exploratory, harmonically and rhythmically, than is usual with singers' bands."...

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The Kendra Shank Quartet, featuring Kendra Shank (voice), Frank Kimbrough (piano), Dean Johnson (bass), and Tony Moreno (drums) will celebrate their 13th-year Anniversary of collaboration in a special appearance at Jazz at Kitano on Wednesday, August 15, 2012, with shows at 8 PM and 10 PM. Reservations Advised: 212-885-7119.

The ensemble's spontaneous group interplay has been described as "...a practically telepathic integration...these four people appear to have emerged from the same womb" (Lawrence Brazier, Jazz Now). In his review of their Mosaic album, Christopher Loudon noted the years spent "tightening their exemplary unit, and the triumph of their solidity is evident throughout this stunningly inventive pastiche of covers and originals" (Jazz Times), while George Kanzler wrote in Hot House: "their music seems quite a bit freer and more exploratory, harmonically and rhythmically, than is usual with singers' bands."

KSQ's three CDs -- Reflections; A Spirit Free: Abbey Lincoln Songbook; and Mosaic -- have made numerous "Best of the Year" lists (including Boston Globe, Newsday, DownBeat, Jazz Times) and they've toured coast to coast with appearances at JVC Jazz Festival, Jazz Standard, Birdland, Blue Note, Iridium, Sculler's, Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival, Capitol Arts Festival, Green Mill, The Dakota, Jazz Alley, Season's Performance Hall, NPR's JazzSet, and many more. Their Anniversary Celebration at Jazz at Kitano will include songs by Kimbrough, Shank, Abbey Lincoln (in honor of her Aug. 6 birthday), Fred Hersch, Ralph Towner, Carole King, James Taylor, re-imaginings of standards, and open improvisation, with their anything-can-happen approach to making music in the moment.

"Kendra Shank has a powerful stage presence and 'a vast amount of emotional range.' Hearing her in person -- with the attentively swinging pianist Frank Kimbrough, bassist Dean Johnson and drummer Tony Moreno -- the immediacy of her musicianship is powerful."
- Nat Hentoff, WALL STREET JOURNAL

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