Mclntyre, Ken(neth Arthur; aka Makanda)
Mclntyre, Ken(neth Arthur; aka Makanda)
Mclntyre, Ken(neth Arthur; aka Makanda), jazz alto saxophonist, reeds player, educator, pianist; b. Boston, Mass., Sept. 7, 1931. He has combined playing and teaching for many years. He studied piano from 1940 to 1945, and bought an alto saxophone from a friend for $45 in June 1950. He studied with Andrew McGhee, Gigi Gryce, and Charlie Mariano. He was in the military from November 1952 until 1954; on his return, he studied at Boston Cons., eventually earning an M.A. in composition. Mclntyre primarily played dances and such jobs, though he did open for Sarah Vaughan (with Richard Davis) at a Waltham festival produced by George Wein. He taught at Brandeis Univ. for two years. He formed a band in Boston, made his recording debut on Prestige, then moved to N.Y. where he met Eric Dolphy in 1960. Following a New Jazz release, Mclntyre decided to become a full-time professor. In 1966, he recorded with Cecil Taylor, but declined a tour of Europe. He has taught since at SUNY in Old Westbury, Long Island. He occasionally leads his own groups and has recorded with Bill Dixon, Thierry Bru-neau, and the Jazz Composers Guild Orch.
Discography
Stone Blues (1960); Looking Ahead (1960); Year of the Iron Sheep (1962); Way Way Out (1963); Hindsight (1974); Open Horizon (1975); Introducing the Vibrations (1976); Home (1976); Chasing the Sun (1978); Tribute (1991).
—Lewis Porter