The Musical Odyssey of
SONNY KENNER

© 1996 Bart Swartz


Kansas City's historic 18th and Vine district may be known to jazz buffs as a major factor in the development of an enduring and uniquely American art form. But it's also the birthplace of Sonny Kenner, one of the most enduring jazz musicians to ever call Kansas City home.

Sonny Kenner has spent a lifetime entertaining audiences, both in Kansas City and around the globe. Born into a family of entertainers in 1933, it was only natural that Sonny become a musician. And it didn't hurt that he grew up only a block from what is now the Mutual Musicians Foundation, where, as a child, he was able to hear some of the city's finest jazz musicians.

Sonny Kenner

At the age of 15, Sonny (along with childhood friend and pianist Larry Cummings) formed a first band called The Five Aces. Popularity across the Midwest came quickly for the group, the result of a weekly radio show on station KIMO as well as a guest spot on a variety show hosted by Bob Hope. Eventually, the Aces went their separate ways, with Kenner spending the next two years leading his own trio. In 1951, the "Red Hot Scamps" -- a forerunner of today's Scamps, led then and now by another Kansas City jazz great, pianist Rudy Massingale -- recruited Sonny. It was with this group that he had the memorable opportunity to play alongside jazz giants Charlie Parker, Quincy Jones and Scatman Carrothers.

"I could hardly play when I was on stage with 'Bird," remembers Sonny with a smile. "I was too busy just trying to listen to him! He was a real idol of mine."

In 1953 Sonny Kenner found himself on the road for the first time. As the guitarist with piano player and bandleader Sonny Thompson (whose "Long Gone" was a blues hit in the late '40s and early '50s), he performed at the Apollo Theater in New York, the Howard Theater in Washington D.C. and numerous venues "in all but about two states."

"We were constantly on the road," says Sonny. "And I have fond memories of all that; but the constant travel finally started to wear me down."

In 1955, Kenner returned to Kansas City, formed a new trio, and began headlining at 18th & Vine's famed Streets Hotel, a short-lived arrangement as the Army came along in October of that year to draft each of Sonny's bandmates.

Left without a working group, Kenner was lured to Los Angeles by a booking agent who had heard the trio perform earlier in Kansas City. California kept Sonny busy as a musician as well as keeping him in contact with "some interesting people."

"When I was in L.A., I became good friends with (comedian) Red Foxx. We'd hang out together after shows and he would take me to all the parties. I couldn't believe all the movie stars I used to see at those things."

Only three months into his Los Angeles stay, it was Sonny Kenner who next would be drafted into the military. It was now off to Germany for two years where, while in the Army, there were weekend gigs "playing Viennese waltzes and polkas... when I wasn't performing in the Army Division Band."

"My CO (commanding officer) heard me play one afternoon," Sonny recalls, "and he asked me to start performing during lunch at different mess halls. That's how the 'European Jazz Quartet' was formed. We toured many of the bases in Germany."

In 1959, and with military service behind him, it was back to L.A. for Sonny Kenner. This time, he would settle and spend the next six years as a session recording artist, working with the Ink Spots, the Rivingtons and appearing on the television shows of Jerry Lewis and Steve Allen. Work was plentiful in California, and eventually Sonny would have to limit live appearances to two nights a week, spending his days recording in the studios with the likes of James Brown, Joe Sample, and Little Richard. There was even a Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival appearance with Jimmy Witherspoon.

The combined attraction of constant work along with the collaborations with noteworthy musicians in Los Angeles weren't enough to keep Kenner from his musical roots, however. In 1965 he returned to Kansas City, intending only to visit but, instead, settling down for good. He even opened his own business, the Pyramid Bookstore and Record Shop.

"There really weren't any black-owned bookstores in Kansas City then," Sonny remembers. "I wanted to open the store for the people in the community."

Though this venture only lasted 18 months, according to Sonny, "a vital community need was filled."

The next seven years were spent working in and around Kansas City, St. Louis and Chicago, a grueling commute that came to an end in 1973.

"It seemed like I was traveling everyday. I would play in Chicago from Wednesday to Friday, and catch a train to play in Kansas City on Sunday. By '73, it was time to leave the road for good and give more attention home and family."

Of the many jazz greats with whom Sonny Kenner has worked, Jay McShann has remained a friend and colleague. There was even a memorable collaboration in the documentary film The Last of the Blue Devils, shot in 1974 at the Mutual Musicians Foundation and featuring many of Kansas City's finest jazz musicians. In 1995, when McShann made a rare Kansas City night club appearance at The Club at Plaza III, it was old friend Sonny Kenner who got the call for the gig.

"Anytime you can play with someone of Jay's caliber," says Sonny about McShann, "it always has a positive effect."

Sonny's decision to settle in Kansas City has made it possible for him to keep many irons in the fire. He has served as a guitar instructor at the Charlie Parker Memorial Foundation, worked as a substitute teacher for junior and senior high schools in the Kansas City School District, and has recently returned to school at Penn Valley College to major in philosophy... while taking a variety of music classes, of course.

The 1990s have been good to Sonny Kenner. In 1994 his many achievements, along with a dedication to craft and community caused the Kansas City Globe to name him "one of the 100 most influential African-Americans." Sonny has also released two albums in the past four years, Never Give Up On Love (1992) and 1995's Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, both available locally at Streetside Records, Music Exchange and Best of Kansas City. Songs from the most recent album have made it to the play lists of KPRS 103.3 and KCIY 106.5.

Although Sonny Kenner, now 63, is a man of varied interests, he still maintains an active performance schedule and shows no sign of slowing down. His weekly performances at the Levee are not to be missed, and yet another new album is in the works.

"Music is what it's all about," says Sonny.

The simple yet eloquent words of a musician whose yesterdays, todays and tomorrows add up to a rich and fulfilling career in music.

It has, indeed, been a musical odyssey for Sonny Kenner.

And the best is yet to come.

(Hear Sonny Kenner every Monday and Tuesday at The Levee -- Ed.)


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