Kenny Rampton

Trumpeter Kenny Rampton grew up in Las Vegas, and studied music at both the University of Nevada at Las Vegas and the Berklee College of Music. In 1989, he moved to New York where he quickly established his reputation as one of the most versatile musicians on the scene, touring and performing with a veritable who's who in jazz. Kenny’s first road gig was a world tour with The Ray Charles Orchestra. After leaving Ray Charles’ band, Kenny went on the road with legendary jazz drummer Panama Francis and The Savoy Sultans and soon thereafter, with The Jimmy McGriff Quartet. As a sideman, Kenny has also performed with such greats as Charles Earland, Dr. John, Lionel Hampton, Slide Hampton, Jon Hendricks, Tommy Igoe and The Birdland Big Band, Takeshi Inomata, Illinois Jacquet, Geoff Keezer, The Lincoln Center Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis, Christian McBride, Eijiro Nakagawa, The Chico O’Farrill Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, Dr. Lonnie Smith, The WDR Big Band, Joe Zawinul and a host of others.
Since 1995, Kenny has been a regular member of The Mingus Big Band (playing both lead trumpet and as a featured soloist). Kenny also plays with The Mingus Orchestra, The Mingus Dynasty, Mingus Epitaph (under the direction of Gunther Schuller), George Gruntz' Concert Jazz Band and Bebo Valdez’ Latin Jazz All-Stars (playing both lead trumpet and as a featured soloist). He can be heard regularly at The Iridium and Birdland in NYC and at jazz clubs and festivals worldwide. As leader of the Kenny Rampton Sextet, Kenny has performed internationally as well as in many of New York City’s finest jazz clubs.
Rampton has also done quite a bit of commercial work in New York. Some of his Broadway credits include "Young Frankenstein”, “Chicago: The Musical", “A Chorus Line”, "Spamalot", “The Color Purple”, "The Producers", "The Drowsy Chaperone", "Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me" and "Hot Feet". Kenny can also be heard on many R&B, Blues, Pop and Hip Hop recordings. Some of the “pop” groups Rampton has toured, performed and/or recorded with are Shawn Colvin, Dispatch, Levon Helm and Matchbox Twenty. Rampton is a founding member and co-leader of F-Train, an original, funk based jazz group that features The F-Train Horns. With his horn section (Donny McCaslin-tenor sax, Clark Gayton-trombone), Kenny has backed up many artists on the blues and funk circuit in NY, including blues great Bill Sims and vocal sensation Pat Cisarano.
Kenny has played on countless jingles that include TV and radio adds for Ameritrade, Applebee’s, Arby’s, AT&T, Bell Atlantic, BestBuy.Com, Blistex, Burger King, Charles Schwab, Cheerios, Coca Cola, Disneyland, Dos Equis, Folger’s, Garden Burger, Glade Candles, Gogurt, Head and Shoulders, Hershey’s, Huggies, Hummer, Kohl’s, KoolAid, Lean Cuisine, March of Dimes, Mercedes, Miller Lite, Nair, New York Lotto, Nivea, Old Spice, Pacific Bell, Pampers, Pantene, PEDA, Pillsbury, Popeye’s Chicken, Red Lobster, Sears, Stay Free, Trix, Verizon, Wachovia, Wendy’s, Wheat Thins and York Peppermint Patties.

Recording Credits

Kenny Rampton , " Moon Over Babylon ", 2006

George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, "Tiger By The Tail", 2006

Lalo , " Half Moon ", 2006

Roger Davidson, "Pensando en ti", 2006

Mingus Big Band , " I Am Three ", 2005 (Grammy nominated)

Beat Kaestli , " Happy, Sad and Satisfied ", 2005

Mingus Big Band , " Tonight at Noon: Three or Four Shades of Love ", 2002 (Grammy nominated)

George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, " Global Excellence ", 2001

George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, " Merryteria ", 2000 (featuring one of Ramptons compositions)

George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, "Renaissance Man", 1998

F-Train, "Back On Track", 1996

F-Train, "Live at Cucaracha-NYC", 1996

Chico O'Farrill, " Carambola ", 2000 (Latin Grammy nominated)

Chico O'Farrill, " Heart of a Legend ", 1999 (Latin Grammy nominated)

Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers, " How'm I Doin'? ", 2000

Jimmy McGriff/Dr. Lonnie Smith, " McGriff's House Party ", 1999

Charles Earland, " Unforgettable ", 1991

Charles Earland, " The Almighty Burner ", 2000

Various Artists, " B-3 in Organ Jazz ", 1997

Reuben Wilson, " Organ Donor ", 1998

Tony Monaco , " Master Chops 'T' ", 2002

Jay Rowe, " Jay Walking ", 1997

Shawn Colvin, " Holiday Songs and Lullabies ", 1998

Bill Sims, Jr. , " Bill Sims ", 1999

Bill Sims, Jr. , " An American Love Story ", 1999

Pat Cisarano , " Ah ", 2000

Julia Darling, " Julia Darling ", 2003

Ann Hampton Callaway, " To Ella With Love ", 1996

Veronica Martell , " The Art of Intimacy ", 2005

Veronica Martell , " Lucky ", 2001

Veronica Martell , " Big City Swing ", 1999

Veronica Martell , "Veronica Martell", 1998

Kathy Jenkins, " From This Moment On ", 1999

Andy Farber and Andrew Williams , " Double 'A' ", 1998

Eijiro Nakagawa and Funk '55, " Eijiro Nakagawa ", 1997 (featuring two of Ramptons compositions)

Takeshi Inomatas New York Jazz Quintet, "Anthropology", 1994

Lily White, "No Pork, Long Line", 1996

George Gee and His Make-Believe Ballroom Orchestra, " Swingin' Live! ", 1998

Nancie Banks Orchestra, Berts Blues ", 1994

Tabou Combo, "Go Tabou Go", 1992

Knut Haugsoen and Vikrama, "Experience (Live in Montreal)", 1992

Eric Mingus, " Um...Er...Uh ", 2000

Hari Karaoke Trio of Doom, "Escape Velocity", 1996

Video

" Why Toes Tap: Marsalis on Rhythm " (Part 1 of video series Marsalis On Music with the Wynton Marsalis Big Band), 1995

" Listening for Clues: Marsalis on Form " (Part 2 of video series Marsalis On Music with the Wynton Marsalis Big Band), 1995

" Tackling the Monster: Marsalis on Practice " (Part 3 of video series Marsalis On Music with the Wynton Marsalis Big Band), 1995

" Sousa to Satchmo: Marsalis on the Jazz Band " (Part 4 of video series Marsalis On Music with the Wynton Marsalis Big Band), 1995

" An American Love Story " (PBS documentary about Bill Sims, Jr. ), 1999

" Bill Sims and The Cold Blooded Blues Band ", 1999

Reviews

John Fordham, " Mingus Big Band, Ronnie Scott's, London ," Guardian (UK), March 13, 2004: "Trumpeter Kenny Rampton's bebop break on Wednesday Night Prayer meeting, however, was the improvisation of the set - precise, beautifully constructed, rhythmically unerring and full of fresh phrasing."

Robin James, "Spirit of Mingus Soars With His 'Ghost Band,'" Saint Paul Pioneer Press, October 30, 2003: "Handy told the audience to 'Shout if you feel like shouting.' The shouting began with bassist Vicente Archer's opening cadenza of 'Haitian Fight Song,' which led to trumpeter Kenny Rampton's outstanding solo on 'Passion of a Woman Loved.'"

Jack Massarik, "Charlie's Angels Stay True to Tradition," Evening Standard (London), June 26, 2003: "Listening to the Mingus band with Sue Mingus sitting in the next seat (a totally unplanned happenstance) is an experience worth sharing. ... 'Fables Of Faubus,' that magnificent debunking of a racist Arkansas governor, featured trumpeter Kenny Rampton in fluent form..."

Don Heckman, "Fitting Tributes to an Enigmatic Talent," Los Angeles Times, April 7, 2002: "Credit also goes to the Mingus Big Band's brilliant musicians, especially alto saxophonist Alex Foster, trombonists Conrad Herwig and Ku-umba Frank Lacy, trumpeters Kenny Rampton and Alex Sipiagin, and [Ronnie] Cuber, all of whom played important roles in bringing a gripping program to life."

"Soloists Breathe Freely," The Age (Melbourne, Australia), January 28, 2002: "There were striking solos from almost every member of the band, including an ecstatic, swirling statement from tenor saxophonist John Stubblefield that maintained itself over an entire chorus, and a casually virtuosic stint from trumpeter Kenny Rampton, who neatly negotiated the sudden shifts in mood and tempo that [bassist Boris] Kozlov and drummer Jonathan Blake cooked up beneath him."

Jack Massarik, "Doctor Lonnie Steals the Show," Evening Standard (London), November 2, 2000, review of concert with Jimmy McGriff and Lonnie Smith at Ronnie Scott's Club: "Rampton, a shadowy, barrel-chested figure poised downstage in a Blues Brothers trilby and shades, took some fine trumpet solos, full of growls and half-valve effects. On the ballads his quiet, furry sound evoked memories of the great Lee Morgan. No question, this Rampton could become a blues institution."

"Foster Inspires Swirling Head of Steam: Mingus Big Band," Manchester Evening News (UK), July 22, 2000: "The outfit was strong on soloists, with Kenny Rampton reaching inspired heights in Fables Of Faubus, Mingus's vociferous anti-racist piece, in which the trumpeter used his technical and improvisatory talents to create a moving amalgam of melancholy and acerbity."

Ken White, " Around the Horn: Kenny Rampton's Trumpet Playing Has Taken Him Far and Wide ," Las Vegas Review-Journal, March 17, 2000.

Ben Ratliff, "A Premiere (Cut Short) And a Bit of History," New York Times, September 4, 1996: The Mingus Big Band "was formed to show the beauty of Mingus's tussling, multi-layered charts, where mottled brass, shifting tempo and sweet blues lyricism are all of a piece. But it has also become a great solo-spotlight group for New York's unsung jazz talent, and through 'Reincarnation of a Lovebird,' 'Gunslinging Bird' and others, it gave concise space to various styles: Chris Potter's mercurial be-bop classicism on alto saxophone, Frank Lacy's wild-card trombone whinnying and Kenny Rampton's smooth, cool trumpet inventions."

Ben Ratliff, "Prodding His Big Band Into Ever Hotter Rhythms," New York Times, July 26, 1996 (review of performance at Smalls in Greenwich Village with Jason Lindner): "Kenny Rampton's trumpet solos alternated lancing shouts and sleek melodic improvising."

Keith Bruce, "Memorable Coup Provides Storming Finale," The Herald (Glasgow, Scotland), July 10, 1995 (review of performance with the Mingus Big Band): "Trumpeter Kenny Rampton and pianist Kenny Drew Jr. also won loud cheers at the end of the night for their solo work on Invisible Lady and elsewhere."