r.i.p. Kenny Cox

[Mark Stryker]

Location was on Strata, not Strata-East. Would love to check that out.

sorry, my typo - fixed above.

no relation to Strata East, then?

Don't know the exact details but it was to be a partnership of sorts. Strata was first and Strata East was to be the East Coast leg of the organization. It never panned out though they kept the Strata-East name. The Detroit folks would know better than me but Cox and company apparently put on a lot of concerts, bringing out all the heavyweights from New York in the late '60s early '70s. I believe Tolliver and Music Inc performed there and that was the start of this.

A shame about Kenny. I spoke to him a few times and he was a really sweet and helpful guy. The band of course was incredible but we've talked about this before I believe......

I have the Strata LP of the group, looser and more electric than the Blue Notes....

Kenn told me the story of Strata over the years but details of how the relationship with Strata-East developed still remain slippery, and I hope to sort some of this out with Charles Moore at some point. But my understanding is, as David says, Strata in Detroit was created first and Strata-East was to be a kind of independent satellite, though it became the more visible and active label with bigger names, distribution, etc. Kenn told me that the official dates for Strata were 1967-76. (Strata-East dates back to 1971 and, again to my understanding, grew out of what Tolliver and company saw when they visited Detroit, but I would want to ask Tolliver or Cowell how this went down.)

Strata did put on an extraordinary series of concerts over a lot of years. Kenn told me that some of the groups/individuals included Ornette Coleman, early Weather Report, Jackie McLean, Chick Corea (I have in my mind this gig was with Roy Haynes or Tony Williams, but it might have been the first RTF), Joe Henderson, etc. It's not clear to me if there's a documented list somewhere, but I hope to get a more definitive picture of it all at some point.

Edited December 24, 2008 by Mark Stryker

[ValerieB]

Mark: thank you so much for your beautiful article about Kenn. i forwarded it to some of his close friends who are at Oberlin.

[AllenLowe]

how did I miss this guy? Sounds quite interesting; I wonder if he had any relationship with the prior generation of Detroit pianists like Barry Harris, Tommy Flanagan, Hank Jones - I know Barry is very conservative and disapproving of post-Trane sounds; the others may be a bit more open. Is johnny O'Neal still around?

[JamesJazz]

Mark, a beautiful observance, as always tasteful and informative. I put this together but hadn't posted it until now.

Pianist/Composer/Arranger Kenny Cox died last Friday, December 19, after a battle against lung cancer. He was 68 years old.

Born in Detroit on November 8, 1940, Cox was a product of Cass Tech, WSU (Business major), and various Detroit music schools. He studied trumpet in his teens – visions of Clifford Brown danced in his head – but his mother insisted that he learn piano, too. So Kenn studied piano, and became proficient enough to gig on both instruments. After a couple of years most of the calls were for piano so he reluctantly put the trumpet aside. Decades later, he’d sometimes refer to himself as a “failed trumpeter”!

Cox loved music of all type and description but during the early sixties he was influenced by Miles and Coltrane both in his playing and composing – his material has been recorded by many bands.

One early band featuring Kenn was the Bohanon-Fields Quintet, a Coltrane-influenced group which recorded under drummer Bert Myrick’s name. Their tenor/trombone front line created an interesting blend. Members of the Jazz Crusaders were in Detroit frequently at the time (1962) and listened attentively to Bohanon-Fields. The Crusaders later recorded two of Cox’s compositions.

Kenny also worked frequently with percussionist Francisco Ali Mora in a Latin flavored quintet which really cooked. He led his Guerilla Jam Band at many spots around town and in Europe during the 1980s.Cox also worked with Yusef Lateef and Kenny Burrell among many others. His first records were made with vocalist Etta Jones in the early 1960s.

But his best known association was with the CJQ, a powerhouse quintet which recorded for Blue Note in 1968. The two LPs have been collated onto a two-CD which is currently available.

Cox was politically active, and dubbed himself a "Cultural Warrior" who pushed for recognition of many forgotten Detroit music legends. His widow, Barbara, was president of the Societe of the Culturally Concerned, a group which most recently honored pioneer ragtime composer/pianist Harry P. Guy.

I met Kenny some thirty-six years ago when I began working at WDET. Kenny hosted “Kaleidephone” on Saturday afternoons. I was a neophyte jazz host, and Kenn offered many useful and practical tips on producing/hosting jazz radio programs. Cox was also the Development Director at WDET and later was Grants Officer for the Detroit Council of the Arts. Kenny was the first Detroit musician who “let me in,” accepted me as a friend. Our friendship was my entree into the jazz scene. I spent many Saturdays in his company and we were colleagues and became friends.

Latterly, Ken could be heard at Baker’s semi-regularly in a trio setting. Cox loved show tunes, and these would pour forth from the piano balanced by a healthy dose of Ellington and other American and Latin composers.

Stylistically, Kenn exemplifies the Detroit piano tradition: a lyrical approach infused with the blues. And Cox was a blues master. His love of Strayhorn, James P. Johnson, and Jelly Roll Morton was never far away during his improvisations…

Kenny spent most of his life in Detroit, performing, teaching, observing. Barbara, his wife of forty-two years, loved his playing and loved him. Kenny was eloquent and witty, a man with many thoughts and opinions whose words were as clear and crisp and lyrical as his pianoflage...he was a Griot, a Music Master.

One is reminded of the saying, “A city’s reputation is established by those musicians who leave, but sustained by those who stay”. We are fortunate to have had the wonderful Mr. Cox with us for so long.

[Guest youmustbe]

Speaking of Dteroit pianists, Hugh Lawson was a mother!!! I heard him many times with Yusef.

Was listening to the 62 Joe Williams Birdland gig on which he's on. So smooth!!!

[AndrewHill]

Got the Cox Blue Note for Christmas; can't wait to hear it.

[Mark Stryker]

how did I miss this guy? Sounds quite interesting; I wonder if he had any relationship with the prior generation of Detroit pianists like Barry Harris, Tommy Flanagan, Hank Jones - I know Barry is very conservative and disapproving of post-Trane sounds; the others may be a bit more open. Is johnny O'Neal still around?

Kenn and Barry were very close; Kenn, like nearly every Detroit musician of his generation, more or less came up under Barry's tutelage. There were some lovely thoughts from Barry in the program for the funeral service today in which Barry said that he had talked to Kenn on the phone in the days before he died and when Kenn was too weak to talk he just had him keep the phone to his ear while he played "I'll Keep Loving You" on the piano for him. In a curious twist of fate, Barry is also playing a concert later this afternoon -- for the last 21 years he has played an annual fundraiser at a downtown Unitarian church at the end of December. So, it's an emotional day for the scene here.

Re: Johnny O'Neal. He still lives here when not traveling, though he rarely plays around town. Last time I heard him he was ebullient as ever.

Edited December 27, 2008 by Mark Stryker

[JSngry]

And FWIW, Cox & Co. would not be considered "post-Trane", at least not in the sense of being "avant-garde" or "free".

[felser]

And FWIW, Cox & Co. would not be considered "post-Trane", at least not in the sense of being "avant-garde" or "free".

Agreed. The Blue Notes sound very much like the Miles Quintet with Shorter/Hancock/Carter/Williams. That was pointed out ealier in the string, but I wanted to also give my agreement, as there is no avoiding the reference to my ears.

[felser]

Location was on Strata, not Strata-East. Would love to check that out.

The Bert Myrick was also on Strata, not Strata-East. Had one tremendous 15 minute track, I think called "Scorpio" (not the Dennis Coffey "Scorpio"). I bought the album after hearing that track on WRTI in the mid-70's, but lost the album along the way at some point. Wish I still had it, although the rest of the album didn't come close to that one track in my memory.

[AndrewHill]

And FWIW, Cox & Co. would not be considered "post-Trane", at least not in the sense of being "avant-garde" or "free".

Agreed. The Blue Notes sound very much like the Miles Quintet with Shorter/Hancock/Carter/Williams. That was pointed out ealier in the string, but I wanted to also give my agreement, as there is no avoiding the reference to my ears.

Agree too. I hear the exact same thing. The first track sounded like it could've come off ESP or Miles Smiles and others sound more like they're off Sorcerer.

[JamesJazz]

Kenny was connected to Barry Harris, also to the earlier generation of pianists - specifically, Willie Anderson and BuBu Turner. Cox always sought out older cats (unlike many of his peers) and marvelled at Anderson's unique style and amazing chops - he was a mix of Tatum, Garner, and Wilson. BuBu was pure bebop.

Kenny said one of the highlights of his then young life was attending with his father a Bud Powell concert.

[RogerS]

I was sorry to hear that Kenn Cox had passed. I heard him play many times through the years, most recently at 2 Donald Walden tributes this year, the 1 song set at the Detroit Festival of the Arts (called on account of thunderstorm) and the set at the Detroit Jazz Fest, he sounded as great as ever. I went through my CD collection, found a few CDs with Kenn Cox

that I wanted to mention:

Sam Sanders, The Gift of Love, Kenn Cox on 2 tracks

this is a bit of a stretch, never had a CD release, I had a professional transfer of the LP to CD, this is one of my very favorite jazz albums

Danny Spencer & Friends, Live at the DIA, 2000

this is a 2 CD set including Kenn Cox and Phil Lasley, recorded August 12, 1983 at the DIA. not a bootleg! found it at a Detroit Jazz Fest, includes "So Be It" a Kenn Cox composition

Donald Walden, A Monk and a Mingus Among Us (Jazzworks, recorded 1996-1997) Kenn Cox plays on Mingus' "Peggy's Blue Skylight" this was mentioned previously in the thread, but not by title

Donald Walden and the Detroit Jazz Orchestra, Focus: The Music of Tadd Dameron (Emanon, 2003)

recorded live at Bert's on Broadway, Detroit Jun 18 &19, 2002

Francisco Mora Catlett, River Drum (ler Cru, 2005) Kenn Cox plays on all but 3 tracks

Message from the Tribe: An Anthology of Tribe Records: 1972-1977

Has the Phil Ranelin track "Vibes from the Tribe" that Kenn Cox played electric piano on

and a CD that he didn't play on: Marion Hayden, Visions (Equinox, 2007) includes a lovely version of his "Buhaina"

Listening to the Blue Note CJQ CD right now.

Roger Silverstein

[JamesJazz]

Good list, Roger. There are two Cox CD projects "in the works" which will surface next year. One with his group "Drum," and one a duet with Donald Walden. Both sessions are excellent...

Kenny had scads of tapes collected over the years. He was pushed and encouraged to issue a compilation, and there was some progress, but he was a perfectionist and a minor flaw (technical or artistic) was enough to sink a track...I recall a beautiful version of "Body And Soul" which took one's breath away, but there was a small recording balance issue, and Kenny shot it down immediately...

[Chas]

I'd be interested to know whether tapes exist for Kenny Cox's Glap Glap , and CJQ's The Black Hole . Both these albums were pictured on the back of Strata records issued towards the end of the label's run .