STAR RISING WITH YAMAHA DRUMS

—Drummer Kendrick Scott New Yamaha Artist—

BUENA PARK, CA (February 14, 2003)—One name that often passes the lips when the new jazz drummers are mentioned is Kendrick Scott. At a relatively young age, this up-and-coming drummer has performed with top artists such as Joe Lovano, George Garzone, Mark Turner, Stefon Harris, Terence Blanchard, Kenny Garrett and Pat Metheny, and has played great venues and festivals in Japan, Greece, Spain, Germany, and in the United States—Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center. Scott was signed as a Yamaha artist in 2002, and plays a Maple Custom Absolute kit.

Yamaha Artist Kendrick Scott

"I am elated and blessed to play Yamaha drums, which possess so much character and have such a positive effect on each of my musical moments," says Scott, who knew he would make a career of drumming at age six. "Yamaha drums' great sound and appearance add another dimension to my playing. I need drums that are made with the highest quality craftsmanship, will stay in tune, fit different styles and are designed with the player in mind. Yamaha drums contain all these attributes and more—they allow me to communicate my heart's desire."

A native of Houston (TX), Scott is now in his fifth year at Boston's Berklee College of Music as a Music Education major concentrating in Jazz Studies. He began his musical journey in the band at Cullen Junior High and began private percussion studies with Daryl Singleton, Assistant Band Director at Texas Southern University.

At the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) in Houston, he studied jazz with Dr. Robert Morgan, Professor of Jazz Studies, and performed in master classes with some of the great names in jazz, including Cyrus Chestnut, Ellis Marsalis, Kenny Barron, and others. During his time in high school, he also played frequent gigs at Houston area jazz clubs, as well as at the International Association of Jazz Educators Convention.

Scott entered Berklee on a partial scholarship and immediately won recognition, receiving the school's Most Active Drummer Division Award his first year. Most notably, he won the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts Clifford Brown/Stan Getz Fellowship that same year. In 2001, he toured with the Berklee Scholarship Jazz Quintet. His formal and informal instructors include Lewis Nash, Kenny Washington, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Eric Harland, Lenny Nelson, Greg Hutchinson and Ralph Peterson.

Scott currently tours with jazz vibraphonist Matthias Lupri. He is also featured with the jazz group Kalifactors on their latest self-titled release on the Fresh Sound recoding label, and is in the process of recording a solo album.

For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Pro Audio & Combo Division, Drum Products, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; e-mail infostation@yamaha.com; or visit www.yamaha.com/drums.htm.