Robin Kenyatta passes away

[brownie]

On the AAJ Board, Christern announced the sad news of Robin Kenyatta's passing away.

No other announcement elsewhere.

The Robin Kenyatta's website does not have anything yet:

http://www.robinkenyatta.com/

[king ubu]

As he lived in Lausanne, Switzerland, there were short notes in the daily papers (Wednesday? Tuesday? Being in the army at the moment I lose track of weekdays...)

I don't really know his music, but I'm inclined to get to know it better.

ubu

[Michael Fitzgerald]

This came as a big shock. I had just met him this past summer when he came to hear the John Handy - Henry Grimes double bill at Iridium. It was a pleasure to be able to sit with Kenyatta and Handy and hear them tell stories and talk shop about mouthpieces. He seemed in great shape to me.

Mike

[mikeweil]

R.I.P.

I have always enjoyed some of his music. He would have deserved more recognition, that's for sure.

[brownie]

Found this (after Ubu mentioned seeing news of the death on Swiss papers) on the Neue Zurcher Zeitung newspaper from Zurich website. Seems Kenyatta died Tuesday in Lausanne. It's in german (or more probably swiss german!)

http://nzz.ch/2004/10/28/fe/page-newzzE0UMLF6C-12.html

[king ubu]

Yes, that's one of the notes I read, so it was in the Thursday papers (i wanted to write Wednesday or Thursday above, but got it wrong).

Swiss german is not a written language, there is no way of spelling correctly etc. All but SMS-kind-of texts are written in proper German here.

The text reads:

********

New York jazz saxofonist Robin Kenyatta has died unexpectedly on Tuesday in Lausanne, two days prior to a concert, for which he had travelled to Switzerland. That's what his agent communicated on Wednesday. Kenyatta should have played close to Lucerne on Thursday.

Kenyatta lived in Europe for more than 20 years, founded and led the Hello Jazz Music School in Lausanne, and lastly [?] was Director of Music at Bentley College in Boston.

Kenyatta was born 1942 in South Carolina and grew up in New York. He became famous as a saxophonist and flautist. Inspired by contemporary bebop, he founded his first band playing Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, and Ben Webster-styled music. With pianist Wolfgang Dauner, he already 30 years ago cut one of ECM's first albums. He appeared with the best jazz and blues musicians of the world, among them B.B. King, Dr. John, or George Benson. Kenyatta performed at the important festivals, among them Montreux Jazz Festival.

********

Hope this makes sense, it's just a very fast translation.

ubu

[couw]

RIP

[clifford_thornton]

This is a drag; he always had such a great sound, and though I never met him, mutual friends sing his praises as a beautiful cat. He will be missed, but his contribution to that great saxophone section in the sky will be very strong indeed.

RIP

[brownie]

News of the passing away of Robin Kenyatta finally reached The New York Times.

Their obituary today:

November 15, 2004

Robin Kenyatta, Jazz Saxophonist, Dies at 62

By MARGALIT FOX

Robin Kenyatta, a jazz saxophonist and composer whose eclectic style embraced hard bop, free jazz and an array of diverse influences from Latin to blues, died on Oct. 26 in Lausanne, Switzerland. He was 62 and lived in Manhattan.

Mr. Kenyatta, who was scheduled to perform in Lucerne on Oct. 28, died in his sleep, his daughter, Ayo Kenyatta Haynes, said. He had returned to the United States in 2002 after living in Europe for three decades.

In a career that began in the 1960's, Mr. Kenyatta collaborated with notable figures like the saxophonists Archie Shepp and Sonny Stitt, the trumpeter Bill Dixon, the trombonist Roswell Rudd and the pianists Valerie Capers and Andrew Hill. Best known as an alto saxophonist, he also played tenor saxophone and flute.

Mr. Kenyatta was born Robert Prince Haynes on March 6, 1942, in Moncks Corner, S.C. He moved with his family to New York when he was 4 and took up the alto saxophone at 14. As a young man, he adopted the name Kenyatta in tribute to Jomo Kenyatta, the Kenyan nationalist leader.

In the 1970's, Mr. Kenyatta recorded three albums for Atlantic Records: "Gypsy Man," "Terra Nova" and "Stompin' at the Savoy." His other albums include "Until," "Girl From Martinique" and "Cool Blue," recorded in 2001. He was also known for his cover recording, in 1973, of the theme from "Last Tango in Paris."

After spending three years in France, Mr. Kenyatta moved to Switzerland in the early 1970's. He performed throughout Europe and founded Hello Jazz, a music school in Lausanne. In recent years, he taught at Bentley College in Waltham, Mass.

Mr. Kenyatta's marriage to the former Pauline Rochester ended in divorce. Besides his daughter, of Manhattan, he is survived by his mother, Rebecca, of Manhattan; a brother, Thomas, of East Stroudsburg, Pa.; a sister, Doris, of Virginia Beach; two sons, Brandon, of Manhattan, and Lorin, of Bern, Switzerland; and two grandchildren.

Last year, Mr. Kenyatta gave his first United States performance in many years, in Boston.

[Dmitry]

His ECM date, The Girl From Martinique is pretty neat. I don't know if it's on cd.

RIP

[JSngry]

To call the guy's career "erratic" would be putting it mildly, but when he was good, he was very good.

RIP, and thanks.