Kenny Washington
Oakland-based jazz vocalist Kenny Washington brings New Orleans gospel roots, a wide vocal range, and improvisational scat singing to standards, bebop, ballads, and soulful jazz repertoire.
Artist details
Home base: Oakland, California
Styles: Jazz Vocals, Bebop, Vocal Jazz, Standards, Soul Jazz
Instruments: Vocals, Saxophone
Band: Performs with rotating Bay Area jazz ensembles and guest musicians.
About
Kenny Washington is a New Orleans-born jazz vocalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He grew up singing gospel in church and playing saxophone in school bands before studying music at Xavier University, where he performed in pop, classical, R&B, and jazz settings. After serving in the U.S. Navy Jazz Band, Washington moved to the Bay Area in the mid-1990s and focused his work on jazz singing and improvisation. He has appeared with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in performances of Marsalis’ *Blood on the Fields*, alongside Gregory Porter and Paula West. Washington released his debut studio album, *What’s the Hurry*, in 2020 and continues to perform with Bay Area small groups in settings that range from standards and ballads to bebop-informed vocal improvisation.