Eric's profile
Eric Kennedy, a Baltimore native, is a drummer, vocalist, percussionist, educator and composer. Eric’s introduction to all styles of music and early music training was initiated by his musical relatives, who also cultivated his love of jazz. Before the age of five, Eric began his development as a percussionist and singer performing with a family/neighborhood band and singing in the Timothy Baptist church choir.
Eric attended the Baltimore City Gifted and Talented Exploratory (G.A.T.E.) Program at Harford Heights Elementary School, where he began formal study of music and art. As a student of the GATE Program, he also co-composed, arranged and performed music for an award winning student short film. Eric continued his arts education at the Baltimore School for the Arts studying classical percussion and voice with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra percussionist John Locke, Donna Di Stefano and the late Dr. Nathan Carter. He later transferred to the Music Careers Programs at Frederick Douglass Sr. High School directed by Ms. Jewel Churn and received extra-curricular instruction from legendary Baltimore drummers Johnny Polite and "Peanut" Saunderlin. After high school, Eric moved to Philadelphia to work with the world music ensemble Our Time Is Now and continue his personal study in ethnomusicology. In Philadelphia, Eric came under the tutelage of Sun Ra and received private instruction from legendary drummer Edgar Bateman.
In 1990, Eric and Our Time Is Now moved to Holland to perform and travel across Europe and record their debut recording, The Pursuit of Happyness. Two years later, he found himself in French Guiana, playing with the Victor Sabas Trio and studying the rhythms of South America, Central America and the Caribbean. During this period, Eric discovered a passion for composition and began writing in myriad styles which reflected his diverse experiences. His current catalog of compositions boasts approximately 500 compositions and sketches of multifarious cultural influences and rhythm styles.
Upon his return to Baltimore, Eric’s career began to blossom. As a freelance drummer he played with Mack Rucks, Moments Notice, the Eubie Blake Sextet and Big Band, Craig Alston, Ruby Glover, Gary Richardson, the Al Maniscalco Quartet, the Steve Carrington Quartet and the Kelly Shepherd Quartet, and co-founded the jazz ensemble Dreamworld. He studied voice with Odell Wilson and Timmy Shepherd, drums with Leroy Williams, fundamental technique with Jamal Wilson, brushes with renowned master Clayton Cameron and attended the jazz workshops of legendary teacher/musician Barry Harris. In the years to follow, Eric played, toured and/or recorded with, among others, Curtis Fuller, Phil Woods, Curtis Lundy, Joe Bonner, Larry Willis, Eddie Gale, Carl Grubbs (2009 Baker Artist Award Winner), John Hicks, Gary Bartz, TK Blue, Richard Wyands, Virgil Jones, Eddie Henderson, Bunky Green, Ronnie Mathews, Yusef Salim, Nnena Freelon, Xavier Davis, Orrin Evans, Charles Davis, Reggie Workman, Keter Betts, Valery Ponomarev, Gary Thomas, Shodekeh, Herman Burney and Cecil McBee. As a vocalist, Eric was runner up in the 2004 Billie Holiday Vocal Competition and showcased at Artscape 2010.
Eric broadened as an entertainer as well. He trained with Quest for Arts, a Maryland based not-for-profit organization whose educational work focuses on the use of visual theatre to enhance literacy. As Quest’s inclusive membership represents a diverse ethnic, cultural, and artistic panorama, Eric accompanied a Deaf dance ensemble led by renowned Deaf choreographer Yola Roznek. He also composed and accompanied the multimedia ensemble piece, I Carry the Flag, performed at Gallaudet University, Towson University and the Baltimore Creative Alliance for a primarily Deaf audience. Eric’s theater credits include a 25th anniversary tour with the cast of the Broadway musical revue Ain’t Misbehavin’ in 2003, a tribute to Billie Holiday "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill" in 2006, Anunsi the Spider with the Sankofa Dance Ensemble, The Women of Brewster's Place and Nnenna Freelon and the Evidence Dance Company’s “ The Blueprint of a Lady” at the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem in 2007. His film credits include a composition featured in the independent film "The Big Muddy".
Eric also flourished as an educator. Eric served three years as adjunct faculty in the jazz department at the Peabody Conservatory of Music teaching drum set, voice, jazz combo and jazz history and also taught voice and percussion for the Eubie Blake Cultural Center and the Mount Royal Elementary and Middle Schools. He was invited to Sweden to perform and teach for at the Music School of Malmo with the Gary Thomas Trio. Over the years, Eric developed and presented a catalog of workshops and clinics for community centers, churches, schools and university programs across the United States and abroad. Eric is currently involved in the multifaceted Project AYA, an educational initiative which honors the traditions of the Underground Railroad. A special project of In This Together Development, INC, this project explores coded messages and hidden meanings in the songs and quilts used along the path to freedom through textiles, song, drumming and movement. Dedicated to youth and developing artists, Eric continues to conduct private lessons in drums, percussion, music theory, vocals and primal performance technique.
Nationally, and internationally, Eric leads his own ensembles and performs regularly with the Bobby Watson Quartet, NoMad Stories, the Timmy Shepherd Group, Inside Out (a collective trio with Lafayette Gilchrist and Michael Formanek), the Larry Willis Trio, the Jeff Reed Trio, Todd Marcus Quartet, Joel Holmes Trio, and Kinetic Sounds.
Eric was artist in residence at An Die Musik from 2011-2012, a member of the first American jazz ensemble to perform at the Tianjin Jazz Festival in Tianjin, China and recently recorded on the Mobtown Moon tribute to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and the I Have a Dream Band's Check Cashing Day in honor of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, DC.
Eric attended the Baltimore City Gifted and Talented Exploratory (G.A.T.E.) Program at Harford Heights Elementary School, where he began formal study of music and art. As a student of the GATE Program, he also co-composed, arranged and performed music for an award winning student short film. Eric continued his arts education at the Baltimore School for the Arts studying classical percussion and voice with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra percussionist John Locke, Donna Di Stefano and the late Dr. Nathan Carter. He later transferred to the Music Careers Programs at Frederick Douglass Sr. High School directed by Ms. Jewel Churn and received extra-curricular instruction from legendary Baltimore drummers Johnny Polite and "Peanut" Saunderlin. After high school, Eric moved to Philadelphia to work with the world music ensemble Our Time Is Now and continue his personal study in ethnomusicology. In Philadelphia, Eric came under the tutelage of Sun Ra and received private instruction from legendary drummer Edgar Bateman.
In 1990, Eric and Our Time Is Now moved to Holland to perform and travel across Europe and record their debut recording, The Pursuit of Happyness. Two years later, he found himself in French Guiana, playing with the Victor Sabas Trio and studying the rhythms of South America, Central America and the Caribbean. During this period, Eric discovered a passion for composition and began writing in myriad styles which reflected his diverse experiences. His current catalog of compositions boasts approximately 500 compositions and sketches of multifarious cultural influences and rhythm styles.
Upon his return to Baltimore, Eric’s career began to blossom. As a freelance drummer he played with Mack Rucks, Moments Notice, the Eubie Blake Sextet and Big Band, Craig Alston, Ruby Glover, Gary Richardson, the Al Maniscalco Quartet, the Steve Carrington Quartet and the Kelly Shepherd Quartet, and co-founded the jazz ensemble Dreamworld. He studied voice with Odell Wilson and Timmy Shepherd, drums with Leroy Williams, fundamental technique with Jamal Wilson, brushes with renowned master Clayton Cameron and attended the jazz workshops of legendary teacher/musician Barry Harris. In the years to follow, Eric played, toured and/or recorded with, among others, Curtis Fuller, Phil Woods, Curtis Lundy, Joe Bonner, Larry Willis, Eddie Gale, Carl Grubbs (2009 Baker Artist Award Winner), John Hicks, Gary Bartz, TK Blue, Richard Wyands, Virgil Jones, Eddie Henderson, Bunky Green, Ronnie Mathews, Yusef Salim, Nnena Freelon, Xavier Davis, Orrin Evans, Charles Davis, Reggie Workman, Keter Betts, Valery Ponomarev, Gary Thomas, Shodekeh, Herman Burney and Cecil McBee. As a vocalist, Eric was runner up in the 2004 Billie Holiday Vocal Competition and showcased at Artscape 2010.
Eric broadened as an entertainer as well. He trained with Quest for Arts, a Maryland based not-for-profit organization whose educational work focuses on the use of visual theatre to enhance literacy. As Quest’s inclusive membership represents a diverse ethnic, cultural, and artistic panorama, Eric accompanied a Deaf dance ensemble led by renowned Deaf choreographer Yola Roznek. He also composed and accompanied the multimedia ensemble piece, I Carry the Flag, performed at Gallaudet University, Towson University and the Baltimore Creative Alliance for a primarily Deaf audience. Eric’s theater credits include a 25th anniversary tour with the cast of the Broadway musical revue Ain’t Misbehavin’ in 2003, a tribute to Billie Holiday "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill" in 2006, Anunsi the Spider with the Sankofa Dance Ensemble, The Women of Brewster's Place and Nnenna Freelon and the Evidence Dance Company’s “ The Blueprint of a Lady” at the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem in 2007. His film credits include a composition featured in the independent film "The Big Muddy".
Eric also flourished as an educator. Eric served three years as adjunct faculty in the jazz department at the Peabody Conservatory of Music teaching drum set, voice, jazz combo and jazz history and also taught voice and percussion for the Eubie Blake Cultural Center and the Mount Royal Elementary and Middle Schools. He was invited to Sweden to perform and teach for at the Music School of Malmo with the Gary Thomas Trio. Over the years, Eric developed and presented a catalog of workshops and clinics for community centers, churches, schools and university programs across the United States and abroad. Eric is currently involved in the multifaceted Project AYA, an educational initiative which honors the traditions of the Underground Railroad. A special project of In This Together Development, INC, this project explores coded messages and hidden meanings in the songs and quilts used along the path to freedom through textiles, song, drumming and movement. Dedicated to youth and developing artists, Eric continues to conduct private lessons in drums, percussion, music theory, vocals and primal performance technique.
Nationally, and internationally, Eric leads his own ensembles and performs regularly with the Bobby Watson Quartet, NoMad Stories, the Timmy Shepherd Group, Inside Out (a collective trio with Lafayette Gilchrist and Michael Formanek), the Larry Willis Trio, the Jeff Reed Trio, Todd Marcus Quartet, Joel Holmes Trio, and Kinetic Sounds.
Eric was artist in residence at An Die Musik from 2011-2012, a member of the first American jazz ensemble to perform at the Tianjin Jazz Festival in Tianjin, China and recently recorded on the Mobtown Moon tribute to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and the I Have a Dream Band's Check Cashing Day in honor of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, DC.
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