Album Notes

Born and raised near Chicago, Kenny played trumpet and sang harmony with his friends and brothers. Kenny’s introduction to the guitar came in the late sixties during a two-year stint in the army while stationed in Washington DC. He borrowed a guitar from a friend in the barracks. A natural lefty, Kenny started playing the guitar upside down – big string on the bottom – an unorthodox style he still maintains. He performed at local coffeehouses where he jammed with other musicians and explored various styles of music. He moved to West Virginia where he performed as a soloist and with two bluegrass groups, The Late Harvest Band and the Roberts Brothers Band.

Songwriting came naturally and his creative desires led him to several song credits early on. One song, “No Way For A Good Woman To Feel” won honorable mention in the Sheet Music Magazine’s1981 songwriters’ contest. Another song, “Toast To West Virginia” received considerable airplay over local radio stations. More recently Ava Dupree covered a bluesy tune called “This Heart Ain’t Breakin’ for You” on her 2006 release of “Blues for Sistah Dupree”, and former front man for Indigo Swing, Johnny Boyd licensed a jazzy ballad written in 2002 called “Now You’re Here”.

Now residing in New Hampshire, Kenny has teamed up with several local musicians to form The Swunk Brothers, performing a spirited combination of swing and funk. His jazz-oriented rhythms and chord structures blend seamlessly with his thoughtful old-school retro styled lyrics. This is fun stuff.