Composers
Kenny Goldberg
Sometimes it takes a particular formative experience to turn a young musician into a true artist. For jazz saxophonist,flutist, and composer Kenny Goldberg, that experience came in the form of travel.
When Goldberg graduated from the University of Washington in the 70's, he already had a deep interest in Latin music. But it took an eye opening trip to Latin America to turn the interest into a career focus.
"I'd loved Brazilian and Afro-Cuban music since I was a little kid" said Goldberg. I wanted to go to the source, to explore a different part of the world,to become an adventurer, and that was the place to do it."
Immersing himself in the musical culture of the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela, this confident young musician showed up at clubs with his saxophone and flute "and just jumped in".
I really didn't have any fears about it," he said. "People were very hospitable. It was exciting to the musicians there to see a young guy interested in their music."
For six months Goldberg performed throughout Latin America, and he wrote music for some of the region's hottest acts, including the #1 salsa group La Dimension Latina.
Brimming with musical ideas, Goldberg returned to the United States and dug deeply into the Latin bag. He joined the pioneering Latin jazz group Tolu, led by Weather Report drummer Alex Acuna and saxophonist Justo Almario. During this experience he caught the ear of renowned percussionist Poncho Sanchez, who invited Goldberg to join his band.
This began a three-year association that would further solidify Goldberg's interest and expertise in the Latin musical idiom. The two albums he recorded with Sanchez included four of his own compositions.
The next step for this developing musical talent was to pursue his own solo career, and the result was his 1992 Positive Music release"Tropical Winds". This soulful,and spicy recording had the highest chart debut in the Gavin Report's listing of Adult Alternative radio stations, and garnered critical acclaim from such publications as Jazz Times Magazine and the Los Angeles Times.
Born in Seattle, Washington, Goldberg began taking piano lessons at the age 5 and took up the alto saxophone three years later. He demonstrates his aptitude for jazz improvisation at an early age, and received an award for his efforts at 14 from the Seattle Arts Commission.
Today Goldberg is busy touring with his quartet, with recent appearances in France, Holland, Germany, and the Blue Note in Jakarta, Indonesia. His unique blend of tasty Brazilian sambas and sizzling salsa, Afro-Cuban style, is in full force on his latest Cezzanne
Records release, "Full Moon". The Album, which features nine of Kenny's original compositions, is a spicy collection of tropical grooves.
"It's jazzier, even more Latin oriented than my first record," Kenny noted. " We're very adventurous within the music. After all that's my style."
