Dennis, Kenny [Kenneth Carl] (Philadelphia, 27 May 1930)

Drummer

He played with Earl Bostic (1953), the organist Jackie Davis (1954), and Erroll Garner (1955), then performed and recorded with Sonny Stitt (1956-7) and Billy Taylor (1957, 1959). As a freelance player in New York he worked occasionally with Thelonious Monk, and made recordings with Johnny Griffin, Sonny Rollins (both 1957), and Mal Waldron (Mal 4, 1958, New Jazz 8208). He also recorded an album of jazz and poetry with Charles Mingus and Langston Hughes and took part in a session with Miles Davis and Michel Legrand (both 1958). In 1960 he moved to Los Angeles, where he accompanied Lena Horne, recorded with the pianist Marvin Jenkins and Roy Ayers (both 1963), and performed and recorded with his wife, Nancy Wilson (1963-4). By 1965 he had ceased to perform professionally.

The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, © Macmillan Reference Ltd 1988