Kenny Washington – A Late Bloomer’s Slow Rise to Vocal Stardom (JazzTimes, Sept. 2020)

After 35 years as a guest singer on other peoples’ records, Oakland-based Kenny Washington, 63, is releasing his first studio album under his own name. The album is called What’s the Hurry?

“I’m originally from New Orleans, the Big Easy,” Washington says. “The people are laid back. I’ve never been in a hurry to do anything.”

Joe Locke, the extraordinary vibraphonist who works with Washington often, calls him “one of the most important male vocalists in the world…Kenny is the whole package.”

I enjoyed talking to Kenny for this profile in JazzTimes Magazine. The record is seriously good. (Get it here: https://www.kennywashingtonvocalist.com/new-album.)

Here’s a two-year-old video of him at KNKX Public Radio in Seattle (I haven’t found a video from the new album yet, but this will give you a taste of his talents).