Other recent accomplishments by the versatile guitarist include airplay on a variety of “ground" and internet radio stations, new distribution agreements with 5 distributors, and a “front page feature" at Kweevak's track site for the months of November and December. Kennedy's music has also been selected for inclusion on an upcoming CDNetwork compilation CD, and his two newest releases have been “pre-nominated" in the AFIM's INDIE Awards.
Kennedy's most recent release, Too Many Pictures is a set of jazz and world musical paintings that features James Kennedy on guitars, Matt Alles on bass, Catherine Lawson on electric violin, and Masahiro Iwasaki on drums/percussion. “Too Many Pictures was composed like an impressionistic painting. In other words, the music is a blend of world and jazz in a soundscape of varied styles, textures and tones. James mixes traditional sounds and modern jazz to create a unique genre referred to as midwestern jazz. The musicianship is masterful on all six songs but I really enjoyed the ebb and flow on 'Summer Rain' a soft fluid instrumental with a subtle beat and fine string work. The music gently washes over the listener like light refreshing rain. 'Bailaora Misteriosa' is a saucy song with Spanish overtones, sexy guitars, funky beats and some cool sounds from the electric violin. It is a poignant and flavorful mix. James Kennedy clearly demonstrates his versatile talents on this unique CD." Laura Turner Lynch for Kweevak.com
James Kennedy's first solo release Just Bein Natural with Union Street Productions was a folk guitar/vocal album late in the 1970's. He toured in support of this album until he went to college. During his undergraduate work in music composition with internationally known composer Alf Houkum, he also studied jazz, world music, arranging, and more. Many of his big-band jazz compositions have been performed by several world-class bands. After his undergraduate training, Jim did graduate work at the University of Iowa with Dr. Richard Hervig and Dr. Tom Davis, among others. Kennedy's jazz and blues training were clearly evident on a recording he did for Matthias Winckelmann of Enja Records which was a very popular release in Europe for many years.
In 1986, Kennedy and Catherine Lawson founded recording label Heart Consort Music. In the intervening years, James has released 11 albums in a variety of styles, ranging from folk/acoustic to rock/fusion, jazz and world music, and more. These eleven releases have received international radio airplay, distribution and exposure. James has written music for various independent film and video projects, and his music has been licensed by 3M, AEI, Bravo, Disney, The Discovery Channel, PBS, DMX, Muzak, Playnetwork, and many others. He has performed at festivals all over the world including Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland; North Sea Jazz Festival, The Hague in The Netherlands; and the Euro-Disney Jazzfest in Paris, France. James Kennedy is an endorsed artist by the Guild Guitar Company and the Lakewood Guitar company.
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