Long before I met him or listened to him play I had heard about Kenny Shanker from a friend who raved about his soulfulness and musicality. It’s a rare thing, a special thing to have a reputation precede a person’s arrival in your life. It says something about that person’s power, influence and talent. What was said about him turned out to be true.

I mixed a live concert recording that Kenny played on, again before I met him. There was a solo on one song that I had to edit. The solo was so quintessential and had such delicate power that all the rest of the musicians almost stopped playing when it was over. Even the singer forgot where she was as the audience roared in response. It was as if time had stopped.

I listened to the solo Kenny took again and again and tried to pick it apart. I couldn't. It was one of those rare live performance solos that music students transcribe and learn note for note. I stopped my mix session, made a few calls, got Kenny's phone number, and called him for the first time. I shared about the transformation that happened for me as I listened to the perfection and symmetry in his improvisation of that solo. I told him about how it inspired me. Unassuming as he is, he said, “thanks man.”

From that moment on, I knew I was dealing with a classic master of form in motion. Kenny Shanker taps into a universal soul with his playing. He understands how to touch people, how to dance around the intellect, shoot through the center of the heart and mightily conquer the funk all at the same time. I have great faith in this unassuming super nice young man named Kenny Shanker. I've witnessed his ability to transcend to a higher level of thought and carry an audience along with him on the journey. With fluidity and ease, he can capture the heart and mind of the many. He is a classic.

--Jeff Jones, “The Jedi Master,” Grammy Award-winning producer