Tom Kennedy

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1960, Tom Kennedy immersed himself in jazz early on thanks to a musical family—his father was a professional trumpeter. Trained first on double bass from childhood, he quickly played the local scene before expanding his approach to electric bass in adolescence, leading him to a language between acoustic jazz, fusion and funk. Based in New York from 1984, Tom Kennedy has worked as a bassist and double-bassist in varied contexts, from the trio Step It with Dave Weckl and Bill Connors to the group Steps Ahead, after being introduced to Mike Mainieri by Peter Erskine. His trajectory also includes a long-standing collaboration with Tania Maria for nearly a decade. Tom Kennedy appears on numerous Dave Weckl projects, notably since Master Plan (1990), and developed a parallel solo path with Basses Loaded (1997) and Bassics (2004). Between highly mobile fusion bass lines, a clear rhythmic anchor and established double-bass practice, Tom Kennedy has for decades moved between contemporary jazz, post-bop and jazz-rock.