DEBBIE KENNEDY (bass & vocals) comes from multiple generations of musicians, so it was no surprise when she began piano lessons at 5 years and French Horn at 10. Her secondary education at “The Victorian College of the Arts Technical School” in Melbourne, Australia, included performances with professional orchestras around the State of Victoria. Classically trained, she became smitten by the jazz genre in her mid-teens, but her chosen instrument was a rarity in the jazz world. By twenty, though, Debbie followed the path of previous family members and switched to stringed instruments, specifically the bass, and began studying under the great English bass player, John Gray, in Sydney.
The bass opened up the world of jazz for her, and she began the 2 year Associate Diploma in Jazz at the Conservatorium of Music, Sydney University. Debbie moved to New York in 1998, becoming a member of the Big Band “Diva” as well as touring the US and Europe. She is a regular in Woody Allen’s band at the Carlyle Hotel, and we welcome her as a new member of our NCJF All-Stars.
