Biography
The four person Soul/Jazz/Funk ensemble Kenney Wesley (North Carolina) is a welcomed guest to festivals and legendary venues across the globe such as SXSW, The Kennedy Center, Southport Weekender, Jazz Cafe London, Blues Alley, and more, and was considered for a Grammy nomination in 2013 and 2014.
Kenny Wesley himself is a songwriter, pianist, and vocalist with a range spanning more than four octaves. With three acclaimed projects, numerous accolades, collaborations, compilation features, and high-profile performances under his belt, including a win as a finalist (and sole U.S. representative) for the 2013 Montreux Jazz Festival’s Shure Vocal Competition, Kenny has firmly placed his stamp on the burgeoning modern music movement. His songs, fusing elements of electronic, jazz, funk, classical, folk and gospel, have been prominently featured on radio, film and TV – including the FOX series So You Think You Can Dance. Kenny also speaks five languages.
Bassist Dennis Turner a.k.a. Mr. Turner, one of Washington D.C.’s most prominent producers, bassists, and musical directors, earned a B.A. in Music Education/Music Media. Mr. Turner plays with hip-hop, soul, and jazz artists such as Yahzarah, Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder, Frédéric Yonnet, Jessie Boykins III, and Grammy-nominated Wayna. Percussionist Biscuit Bynum, also from D.C., holds a degree in Music Performance and co-founded Sound of the City Music Group, Inc, a business that offers music production, live band and vocal backing, vocal production and arrangement, songwriting, music education, and artist development. Bynum has performed on nationally-syndicated television shows such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Ellen Degeneres Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Today Show, and BET. Guitarist and also a music degree holder, Zachary Cutler is also the music director of the legendary Impressions and has worked with numerous other recording artists. Between them the group speaks English, Spanish, Italian, French, German, and French Creole.
The ensemble says they feel passionate about bullying, education, and poverty, and hope to eradicate these issues by creating and disseminating socially empowering art.
A welcomed guest to festivals and legendary venues across the globe such as SXSW, The Kennedy Center, Southport Weekender, Jazz Cafe London, Blues Alley, A-Trane, Montreux Jazz Festival, Ronnie Scotts, The Fillmore, The White House, The Blue Note, Black Cat, Howard Theatre, Bohemian Caverns, and The Apollo Theatre Cafe, Kenny Wesley has shared the stage with numerous artists and musicians. These include Maysa (Incognito), the B52s, Vinx, Rachelle Ferrell, Jean-Paul Bourelly, Vikter Duplaix, Leela James, Charnett Moffett, Frédéric Yonnet (Prince, Stevie Wonder), Mino Cinélu (Miles Davis, Weather Report), Federico Peña (Marcus Miller, Meshell Ndegeocello), Stephanie Mills, Regina Belle, Zo!, Carmen Rodgers, Phonte (Little Brother, The Foreign Exchange), Alice Smith, Eric Roberson, Kindred and The Family Soul, N’Dambi and Syleena Johnson.
Languages: English, French, French Creole (basic),
Spanish, German
