Ron Carter Esperanza Spalding - Downbeat

Holiday Gift Guide 2012 [ Feature
A Kansas City Christmas
Kevin Mahogany leans on K.C. Soul for holiday Album
By Eric Harabadian
t’s no secret that Kansas City, Mo., has traditionally
been a hotbed of jazz activity since
the 1920s. Artists such as Count Basie, Bennie
Moten, Jay McShann and Charlie Parker
are just a few of the notable representatives
that helped put that city on the map. Certainly one
of that town’s ardent, more contemporary sons
who proudly carries the Kansas City torch is vocalist
Kevin Mahogany. The versatile baritone has
been deeply involved in the lexicon and culture of
improvisation since he was 12 years old. He began
as an instrumentalist, playing tenor and baritone
saxophone and clarinet in big bands around
the city. As one of the youngest gigging musicians
on the venue circuit, Mahogany was in the
spotlight early. The experience taught him not
only about preserving the history and integrity of
the music, but about being a professional and being
able to adapt to various musical styles and
situations. One of the latest in a soon-to-be extensive
series of Mahogany releases is the vocalist’s
Christmas album, Kevin Mahogany And The
Kansas City Jazz Orchestra (Mahogany Jazz).
On the disc, Mahogany is in his natural habitat,
reuniting with fellow hometown musicians
and bridging the gap between traditional fare
and modern crossover interpretations. Of the
14 tracks, half are instrumental and half feature
Mahogany with the ensemble. “Although I didn’t
start off singing with big bands, it was nice to be
working with a big band again,” Mahogany said.
“I’ve done some Christmas tunes with bands in
the past but not a full CD. So, in that sense it was
a lot of fun. And working with a lot of these guys I
know and grew up with was great, too.”
Mahogany’s robust and dulcet tones graced
’80s r&b/jazz groups Mahogany and The Apollos,
with an approach that was as much influenced
by Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson as it was
Al Jarreau, Joe Williams and Eddie Jefferson. In
the ’90s, he moved into more solo ventures, recording
for various labels such as Enja, Warner
Brothers and Telarc. In the mid-2000s, the singer
focused on making the ultimate investment in his
career by starting his own label, Mahogany Jazz.
“It’s really just a matter of controlling the budget
and more of what you’re doing,” Mahogany
said. “It’s just easier to handle things yourself.
Even when you’re on a major label, you end up
doing a lot of the work yourself. You’re putting
the band together, selecting the songs and so
forth. There’s nobody to fall back on. Now, if the
record’s good, it’s good because of me, and if it’s
bad, it’s bad because of me, too.”
Allene Mahogany
Mahogany also reflected on making the
switch from budding instrumentalist to accomplished
singer. “I felt I reached a plateau as an
instrumentalist,” Mahogany said. “I was never
gonna be Gerry Mulligan [laughs]. I really didn’t
see leading a group or band with my horn. I was
in choirs throughout school and had always sung,
so I turned my focus to that.” While the shift in
direction proved most beneficial, Mahogany acknowledges
the benefits of starting out as he
had. “I think it made a big difference having an instrumental
background,” he explained. “It makes
it easier to understand what is going on around
me musically and, ultimately, what I’m trying to
do musically.”
The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra is directed
and conducted by saxophonist Kerry Strayer,
who also did the majority of arranging on the album.
Time-honored favorites like “Silent Night,”
“Let It Snow” and “Do You Hear What I Hear?”
are present, but there are some welcome musical
twists like a bossa nova-flavored “Christmas
In Rio” or the gutbucket, soulful tune “Santa’s
Blues.”
“I really can’t remember how we all ended up
together working on this,” Mahogany laughed.
“I know me and Kerry were talking about it. The
orchestra contacted me about doing a concert. I
did some things with Kerry before. He did some
arrangements for a benefit Christmas album to
raise money for a charity in Kansas City.”
Are there any challenges when tackling such
well-known holiday chestnuts? “Yes, everybody
has their favorite versions of a song,” Mahogany
said. “You could never approach their definition
of how the song should be done. Consequently,
you’re just trying to do your best. We’re just trying
to make the tunes a little fresher, cleaner and,
perhaps, newer sounding.”
Production at Mahogany Jazz rolls on with a
lot of exciting activity into 2013. “The Christmas
CD is the second in a series of three,” Mahogany
said. “After the first of the year, we’ve got a lot
more stuff ready to go.” DB
66 DOWNBEAT DECEMBER 2012