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History

Kenny MacKenzie Trio have been playing together since 2000. Kenny lives on Long Island while most of the other players live in NYC. In 2001 they began playing live in a quintet format in the heart of NYC's West Village at Café Creole every Monday from May 2001 to Sept 2003. Shortly after the start of this gig they began playing as a trio in Louis Bar (now Louis 649) every Thursday from August 01 to August 04 when owner/designer Andrew Rumpler sold it. Beginning in November 2002 the trio also began month long fill-ins for Eri Yamamoto at famed Arthur's Tavern and continued to do so semi-annually through Nov. 2004.

After a triumphant performance in 2005 at the Interchurch Center in Manhattan, the trio took a year off, returning in July of 2006 to do one engagement sporting a new lineup. From June 2007 to Feb. 08 the trio set up closer to Kenny's home at Long Island's Elk Street Grille in trendy Port Jefferson. Dates are currently being set to return to NYC and elsewhere.

Their latest cd "Closer to the Day" has just been released and a new one is currently in the mixing process.

in no particular order...

The Bassment

Players

Visuals

Nathan Peck

If you are at all familiar with the jazz scene in New York City then you know Nathan. Born in Ohio, he comes from a family of jazz musicians with whom he continues to play and record. At age 16 he won the Milt Hinton award, Scholarship for Students of the Double Bass and also won an Honorable mention from the National Endowment for the Arts. Nathan is the bassist in the Alex Skolnick Trio. He's an incredible musician, an accomplished composer and a great guy, with several bands of his own. Here is Nathan's website.

Jerry McDonald

Jerry is a featured bassist on the trio's latest recordings - along with Nathan. We've have been playing together since the 2 of us started professionally playing jazz. He is hands down the most easy going cat in NY - and in my opinion one of the best "walkers" as well. He's also highly creative and tastefully experimental. Jerry's up for anything musically - (a real plus in my book) - making every gig fun, unique and satisfying for everyone playing and listening. He currently resides in Queens and leads his own trio at the Sage Cafe in Blue Point, NY. He's also a member of the Swingset Quartet, the Matt Wynne Trio and Jack's Waterfall. You can peruse his own site here.

The Drumline

Yoni Halevy

Yoni's the drummer on the latest KMT recordings. He was born in Haifa, Israel. Later moving to London and currently living in NYC - Yoni pretty much plays all over the world, showing virtousity and eloquence in many genres including jazz, funk, rap and live electronica. He spent five years as the drummer for Arnie Lawrence. Yoni is the drummer for Spokinn Movement, The Apples, and his own quartet. We met at a jam session at Louis Bar (don't let anybody tell you jam sessions are a waste of time); 'twas musical love at first sight. His playing is multi-faceted: fiery and driven; funky with deep, deep grooves; articulate and refined. Always appropriate, always sheer pleasure.

Ben Bynum

Ben was born in New Hampshire and grew up on Long Island. He attended Julliard preparatory
division, following up with the New England Conservatory of Music studying classical
percussion. Finishing at SUNY Stony Brook he also studied piano and conducting. He's played with some heavy cats including
Ray Anderson and Teddy Charles. Ben is
featured along with Yoni on the new cd.
As one might guess with such a background, he's a very thoughtful player: refined and precise, with a delightful feel and swing. You can visit his brand new website here.

Lieven Venken

Lieven is from Belgium. He attended the Lemmens Instituut, graduating cum laude in '99. He studied with Billy Hart and Brian Blade in NY and Kees Cranenburd in Amsterdam. He's played for artists throughout Europe and the US including Mark Turner, Claudio Roditi, Jonathan Moritz & Bryan Lynch; and is currently the drummer for the High Voltage Sextet and the Bart Van Caenegem trio. Lieven's an astoundingly creative drummer with an equally awesome & proficient technique . We haven't played much lately but he's been so awesome in the past I had to mention him. If you are in NYC or Belgium - hunt this guy down and listen to him.

Paul Micca

Paul's a very laid back dude. And a very
busy dude lately - so it might be a while
before we have the official bio. Here's
what I know - he's from Long Island, and
for a very long time he was the drummer
for the incredible band "The Others".
Zygomatic,A band I was in at the time, frequently double billed with them - and I was immediately drawn to the insistent
and undeniable groove that Paul lays down.
It's seriously deep. Paul is featured on some
tracks on the next release (sometime in
'08) including "Sarabande" which you
can hear now on the listen page. Paul
works on a lot of projects including his
own - Rugged and Prez, also one of
my favorite bands to listen to.

Shenole Latimer

Tierra Records recording artist Shenole Latimer is from Long Island. He attended SUNY at Stony Brook and studied under Todd Coolman and Dan Faulk. Shenole leads his own quartet of which I frequently am a part. His alto and soprano playing is profound and melodic, with a unique ability to reveal the deeper places and meanings of a composition to the listener. He's featured on the latest Kenny MacKenzie Trio release. I'm honored to play with him and call him a friend. You can visit his own site here.
photo by Frank Cooper

Kenny MacKenzie

Born May 15, 1966

All the musical abilities I have, great or small, were given me by God the Father. I
didn't aquire them or create them myself.
They were created and given to me freely
as a gift by the great Creator. They were always there as far back as I can remember.

So ultimately, although I do love to be appreciated; appreciation for these peculiar and beautiful gifts and sounds that come forth from me belongs to the Man who looked on me before I was, and gave me such a luxurious thing to have in my being.
I'm thankful, I can hardly begin to understand it; but I'm glad to be able to
share it with you.

I've been a Christian since I'm 20, and pretty much every note I write is a reflection of that existance.

I would be remiss to also not
mention the level of participation
and support on the part of the astounding
and wonderful musicians who play with me
that make kmt recordings so unique.
They play with such exuberence and
dedication, and on each song have poured out themselves - for these things and for their friendship I'll always be grateful. It's an honor, sirs!

Bands I've formerly been in with national releases included the Untones & Zygomatic.	Names of dogs I've owned in order: Thunder, Lightning, Shadow, Roger, Freddie, Ruth, Sherrie, Louis.
Famous places I've played: Triad, Arthur's Tavern, Birdland, Hobbit Hole, Cat Club & that club Bill Clinton played in...maybe a few more.	Current piano - 1929 Fischer 5'10" baby grand. Favorite color: blue.

Rob and Ken MacKenzie
circa 1970

I also have been blessed to frequently play with:
Chris Benham, Steve Kaell, Matt Kane, Ray Parker, Jeremy Carlstedt, Josiah Wolf, Emanuele Coluccia, Greta Panettieri, Stefanie Cardinali, Allison Paris, Chris Sbrolini, Nick Russo, Tomoaki Kanno, Brian Kantor, Danny Zanker, Ian Petillo, Joni Paladin, Luca Santaniello, Scott Kettner, Michael Bates, Mark Portugal, Al Cardillo, Mike Savino, Kyle Strove, Zaid Shukri and Nameer Shukri.