New Faces of Jazz — Kendrick Scott, Drummer and Composer

Drummer and composer Kendrick Scott kicked off his Blue Note contract four years ago with We Are the Drum. Expertly produced by Derrick Hodge, Scott’s creative confidant, and musical brother, and featuring a stunning guest performance by vocalist Lizz Wright, it earned rave reviews and reiterated how Oracle, Scott’s long-running working group, is one of the most thoughtfully powerful jazz bands of its generation.

When it came time to follow this success up with a new effort, however, Scott felt stuck. Nothing he wrote or played seemed good enough; self-doubt had formed a blockade where inspiration once flowed. But, as Scott points out today, “Wayne Shorter says there’s always something unfolding on the other side of the negative.” Hodge, who’d signed on again as Scott’s producer, witnessed what the drummer was putting himself through and had a similar realization. For years Hodge has been dedicated to shaping Oracle’s sonic identity, even relinquishing his role as the band’s bassist to work behind the scenes. Scott calls him “the sixth member of Oracle.”

“Derrick said, ‘We need to tap into your fears and insecurities and make some art about them,’” Scott recalls. “That was amazing to me—that he got me out of my own head.” Scott gathered up the compositions he’d been working on—both finished and unfinished—and headed into the studio, where “Derrick and the band helped me unfold them, and they became the record that you hear.”  More on Kendrick Scott

The music on KUVO never stops, thankfully. The nature of these creative compositions and compelling collaborations is growth and re-invention, re-interpretation, and the quest for things altogether new and never heard before.

Jazz Appreciation Month comes along at just the right time. Spring is the time for new life, to replace the giant trees felled by age and virus. Not to put too much pressure on the young artists headed our way, but we’re counting on them to get us out of the grief and negative funk we’re in. Too much death. Too much sorrow. Lost memories and dear friends departed. Jazz folks are ready for what’s next in music, NOW MORE THAN EVER!

In April 2022, KUVO marks Jazz Appreciation Month by highlighting a few of the “New Faces of Jazz,” however you wish to describe this music. Every few days we’ll dig into the shallow catalogs of the up-and-comers who are coming on strong with musical ideas birthed from the soil loosely called “Jazz.”

We hope you will reach out to KUVO with YOUR favorite new artists because honestly, try as we might, we haven’t heard them all. Hit us up on any of our social media channels or text:

• Instagram: jazz89kuvo
• Twitter: @KUVOJazz
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jazz89kuvo
• Email: studio@kuvo.org
• Text: 303.291.0666

In the meantime, KUVO Jazz hosts (and the hosts of other formats on KUVO) will sound a little younger, and a little more adventurous during April. Because we’re depending on the next wave. Join us won’t you?

For more ways to celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month and for more resources, visit the Smithsonian Institution’s official JAM website at American History Smithsonian/Jazz Appreciation Month.

Picture credit: Jazz Dock

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