Kevin Bryant Mahogany (July 30, 1958 – December 17, 2017) was an American jazz vocalist who became prominent in the 1990s. Particularly known for his scat singing, his singing style has been compared with those of

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously a ...

, Joe Williams and Johnny Hartman.

Early years

Mahogany began his study of music as a child with

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

and later learned to play the

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

and

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone (sometimes abbreviated to "bari sax") is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass saxophone, bass. It is the lowe ...

, performing with

jazz band A jazz band (jazz ensemble or jazz combo) is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands vary in the quantity of its members and the style of jazz that they play but it is common to find a jazz band made up of a rhythm section and a ho ...

s and teaching music while still in high school. He said, "When I was a kid, music was just as important as English and math in our household... Piano lessons were a grade school staple for the whole family." He attended Baker University, where he performed with instrumental and vocal ensembles and formed a vocal jazz group. In 1981, he received his BFA in music and English drama.

Performing

After graduating, Mahogany returned to

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

, where he attracted a local following in the 1980s performing with his groups "The Apollos" and "Mahogany". In 1995 he was featured on a CD by Frank Mantooth. Mahogany's first CD as a solo artist was ''Double Rainbow'' (1993). It was followed by the album ''Kevin Mahogany'' (1996), which gained positive attention in the media, and prompted ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' to call Mahogany "the standout jazz vocalist of his generation." Mahogany appeared in

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...

's film ''

'' (1996), playing a character said to be based on Kansas City singer

Big Joe Turner Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him". Turner's greatest fa ...

. In 1997, Mahogany was featured on the soundtrack to ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'' singing "Laura", written by

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Wallichs Music Cit ...

. He has listed his vocal influences as Lambert, Hendricks and Ross,

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and songwriter. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and ...

and Eddie Jefferson. He has taught at the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

. In 2016, he was featured on the track "Special Girl" on the CD '' Bang & Classic'' by Polish rapper Bosski Roman.

Death

Mahogany died on December 17, 2017, from the effects of diabetes. He was 59.

Discography

As leader

* ''Double Rainbow'' (Enja, 1993) * ''Songs and Moments'' (Enja, 1994) * ''You Got What It Takes'' (Enja, 1995) * ''Kevin Mahogany'' (Warner Bros., 1996) * ''Another Time Another Place'' (Warner Bros., 1997) * ''My Romance'' (Warner Bros., 1998) * ''Pussy Cat Dues: The Music of Charles Mingus'' (Enja, 2000) * ''Pride & Joy'' (Telarc, 2002) * ''To: Johnny Hartman - Live at Birdland'' (Mahogany Jazz, 2004) * ''Big Band'' (Zebra, 2005) * ''Next Time You See Me'' (Mahogany Jazz, 2012) * ''Old, New, Borrowed and The Blues'' (Mahogany Jazz, 2013) * ''The Vienna Affair'' (Cracked AnEgg, 2015) * ''Just You and Me'' (Racing Jazz, 2017) * ''Live in Torino'' - ''Italy'' (Racing Jazz, 2021) * ''An Evening of Ballads (Live)'' (Mahogany Jazz, 2024)

As sideman

Monty Alexander Montgomery Bernard "Monty" Alexander OJ CD (born 6 June 1944) is a Jamaican American jazz pianist. His playing has a Caribbean influence and bright swinging feeling, with a strong vocabulary of bebop jazz and blues rooted melodies. He was in ...

, ''My America'' (Telarc, 2002) * Cheryl Bentyne, ''Moonlight Serenade'' (King p 2003) * Ray Brown, ''Some of My Best Friends Are...Singers'' (Telarc, 1998) *

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such albums as ''My Fa ...

, ''

It Don't Mean a Thing It or IT may refer to: * It (pronoun), in English * Information technology Arts and media Film and television * It (1927 film), ''It'' (1927 film), a film starring Clara Bow * ''It! The Terror from Beyond Space'', a 1958 science fiction film * I ...

'' (Enja, 1993) *

Tony Lakatos Antal "Tony" Lakatos (born 13 November 1958 in Budapest) is a Hungarian Jazz saxophonist (tenor, soprano saxophone). He lives in Frankfurt, Frankfurt (Germany). Lakatos attended the Béla Bartók Conservatory in Budapest from 1975 to 1980, then m ...

, ''The Coltrane Hartman Fantasy Vol. 1'' (Skip, 2010) * Frank Mantooth, ''Sophisticated Lady'' (Sea Breeze, 1995) * T. S. Monk, ''Monk on Monk'' (N2K Encoded, 1991) * Marlena Shaw, ''Dangerous'' (Concord Jazz, 1996) * Roseanna Vitro, ''Passion Dance'' (Telarc, 1996) * Deborah Brown Quartet, ''Kansas City Here I Come'' (Agora SA, 2016)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahogany, Kevin 1958 births 2017 deaths Musicians from Kansas City, Missouri American jazz singers Baker University alumni Berklee College of Music faculty Enja Records artists University of Miami faculty Singers from Missouri Jazz musicians from Missouri 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers