Intersections Concert Series Presents Kevin Flournoy

Name: Intersections Concert Series Presents Kevin Flournoy
Start: 2024-10-13T19:00:00-07:00
End: 2024-10-13T20:30:00-07:00
Location: UC San Diego Park & Market

Schedule

Sun Oct 13 2024 at 07:00 pm to 08:30 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

UC San Diego Park & Market | San Diego, CA

An unstoppable behind-the-scenes force of musical nature since his 1994 breakthrough as a producer with “Sweet Sensual Love,” Big Mountain’s follow-up to their smash “Baby I Love Your Way,” and keyboardist on their Reggae Sunsplash tour, Kevin Flournoy has amassed a dizzyingly prolific all-star resume in the jazz, pop and R&B realms over the past three decades.
Driven by an expansive, panoramic perspective on music, and starting with his subsequent 90s work with The Emotions, Teena Marie, and Ronnie Laws (helming the saxophonist’s Blue Note tribute album Harvest for the World – Portrait of the Isley Brothers), Kevin has written, performed or recorded with Chaka Khan, Babyface, Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Jeffrey Osborne, The Pointer Sisters, Jennifer Hudson, Howard Hewett, Jamie Foxx, The Jazz Crusaders and contemporary jazz greats Boney James, Norman Brown, Kirk Whalum and Harvey Mason. In the 2000s, Flournoy toured with Donny Osmond for six years.
Now, marking an extraordinary 30 years as the music industry’s premiere “go-to” guy in a multitude of arenas, Kevin is finally emerging as a recording artist in his own right, writing, recording, and producing his independent debut album Vers•a•tility. Much like Quincy Jones did in the 80s and 90s with his epic eclectic albums The Dude, Back on the Block, Q’s Jook Joint, and From Q, With Love, the keyboardist/producer features a dynamic array of guest artists, complementing legends he has worked with throughout his career with hand-selected young and vibrant artists on the rise. The collection features eight vocal tracks and four instrumentals spotlighting Kevin’s brilliance as a keyboardist and composer.
Kevin in part credits his father, a marine who played trombone, for cultivating his love for music early on by taking him and his siblings to a local music store in Barstow, CA to pick out an instrument to play. Kevin played guitar for several years before gravitating to his sister’s original instrument, the organ, and ultimately piano. A professor at Kevin’s future alma mater University of California San Diego, Jimmy Cheatham, introduced him to the music of Count Basie when he was 15 and Kevin played in a big band for five years. Kevin earned a B.A. in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Music Science and Technology. Another major influence on Kevin as he made his way into the music industry was Marvin Gaye’s one-time musical director Nolan Shaheed.
In addition to his work with countless artists and working on numerous TV projects including American Idol, Kevin is the creator of an original video music-talk program called The K-Flow Show, a fresh take on the traditional music/talk show featuring organic live performances by celebrity and independent pop artists. Conceived as something of a mix between Hugh Hefner’s classic TV show Playboy After Dark, MTV Unplugged, and Daryl Hall’s Live from Daryl’s House, The K Flow Show – which takes place in an intimate, living room-type setting – will also spotlight instrumental performers and TV and film actors. Kevin has brought a live version of The K Flow Show to the Miracle Theatre in Inglewood, CA, and in January 2024 will bring a special presentation to the Blues and Jazz Festival in Ghana, Africa.
Kevin is also deeply involved in a philanthropic effort as producer of a celebrity recording compilation On a Very Special Note, which will benefit The Art of the Olympians and the World Harmony Run/Peace Run – a project that will ultimately benefit people all over the globe. The original songs for the project have been composed by Kevin for each celebrity participant. A very important strategic promotional alliance with the Peace Run organization was forged when Kevin was honored with the Sri Chinmoy-Torch-Bearer Award, given to individuals who support and contribute to making the world a better place. Previous recipients include Archbishop Kevin Tutu, Russell Simmons, Carl Lewis, and Billie Jean King.