This month, SmoothViews travels out to the West Coast to showcase an extraordinary keyboardist, producer, and writer, Kevin Flournoy.  Kevin is one of those rare breeds that can juggle various aspects of the music business and straddle the different worlds of jazz and pop music.  And all of this started at an early age in Los Angeles.  “My Dad was a musician and played trombone in the marine corp.  My brother, sister and I were taught to read music at an early age.  I was about 7.  I remember when he took us to a local music store and told us to pick out something.  He said this was going to be like the marine corp, where he had to rehearse for an hour every week.  My Dad made it clear that we’d also have to rehearse every week.  I actually picked out the guitar; my sister picked out the organ; and my brother picked out the drums.  I took folk guitar lessons for a couple of years but in my spare time, I was always jumping on the organ.  Something was calling me! I said this guitar was okay, but the organ…by the time I was 9, I was taking organ lessons.  I would have fun.  Me and the guitar just didn’t get along.” 

So the organ took over, and eventually the piano.  Kevin took lessons on classical piano in high school, but dreams of being the next Quincy Jones, one of his influences along with Babyface and for big band/swing music, Count Basie, were calling him.  “I love playing piano, keyboards and organ, but my primary joy was writing.  The instrument thing was secondary.”  And so his writing career began.  In high school, Kevin was called upon to write songs for all of the school assemblies.  “Writing music was easy for me.  For every assembly in school I was writing music.  I was writing beautiful love songs at age 16!  We’d be doing some Lionel Richie tunes and I would slip in a few original songs, too.  Only thing is that I have limited voice capabilities, so my buddies would sing them for me!”

The writing and playing for school assemblies would be where Kevin would hone his skills for bigger and better things to come.  While attending UC San Diego, where he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering, Kevin was in a Big Band.  Upon graduating, Kevin was offered to jobs.  One was as an engineer with Teledyne, and the other, a deal with RCA records.  “I thought this was my chance to give the music thing a go for real.”  When asked if he figured that if the music didn’t work, he could always go back to the world of engineering, Kevin said no.  “I never thought of my degree as a fall back.  I was going forward with the music and never looking back.”  Kevin soon started playing around the L.A. area and landed gigs with Teena Marie, The Emotions, The Pointer Sisters, Gladys Knight, and eventually Ronnie Laws, who he toured with for three years.  In the jazz arena, he has also played with Mindi Abair, Boney James, Kirk Whalum, Alan Hewitt, and a host of artists on the jazz cruises he’s been on.  Then came the pop world - specifically, Donny Osmond.  “That was a real trip.  Every night we’d see these 40= year old women waving their vinyl albums for Donny to sign.  These were grown women!”  It was amazing.  And we’d play BIG places.”  And if Donny Osmond weren’t enough, Kevin says he’d love to play someday with Michael Jackson or Elton John.

While Kevin enjoys touring and playing in front of the crowds, his love of writing, composing, and producing are still his first loves.  “So while you are out there enjoying the summer concert season, whether it’s jazz or pop, pay close attention to the man at the keyboards.  It could very well be Kevin Flournoy…our next Quincy Jones!