Her biography tells us that "Originally a folk/pop singer/guitarist based in Seattle, Kendra Shank comes to performance naturally.  Born in California to a playwright father and actress mother, Kendra was acting in plays at age 5, picked up the guitar at 13, and at 19 began her professional music career.  Jazz, however, came later.  During a 1988 residency in Paris , the influence of jazz artists grew, especially Billie Holiday. In 1989 Shank began studying with jazz vocalist Jay Clayton in Seattle, while keeping dual residency in Paris where she gigged in jazz clubs.  Her jazz career blossomed quickly and in 1991 she was hired by Bob Dorough as vocalist/guitarist/percussionist for his U.S. west coast tour.  She soon caught the attention of jazz legend Shirley Horn, who co-produced Shank's critically-acclaimed debut compact disc, Afterglow (Mapleshade, 1994), featuring pianist Larry Willis and saxophonist Gary Bartz, and invited Kendra to perform as her guest at the Village Vanguard in New York. Ms. Shank relocated to New York in 1997 and recorded two albums for Jazz Focus Records, Wish (1998) and Reflections (2000), which climbed the jazz radio charts and won "Top Ten Album of the Year" awards in Jazziz, Newsday, and The Boston Globe.  "This vocalist makes lyrics believable, invents like an instrumentalist, and has an ear second to none for little-known and unknown tunes," wrote the Globe's Bob Blumenthal.  Shank combines jazz originals, standards,  French songs, folk/pop tunes, and open improvisation in an adventurous, genre-bending style that inspired Abbey Lincoln  to call her  "an original; a singer with a sound." In addition to her recordings as a leader, Kendra was guest guitarist on Abbey Lincoln's CD Over The Years (Verve), sang vocalise lines on Peter Leitch's Blues On the Corner CD (Reservoir), and has performed live with Jay Clayton.  She has been featured on National Public Radio's JazzSet and Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland, and was recognized among "Talent Deserving Wider Recognition" in the 1999 Down Beat International Critics Poll.  Kendra Shank's current group, formed in 1999 and featured on her Reflections CD, includes pianist Frank Kimbrough, bassist Dean Johnson, and drummer Tony Moreno. 

Q-What would you do to stay on the top?                                                        Kendra: First of all, not to perceive it as "on the top" but, rather, as just living my art and my life every moment to the best of my ability.  Remember to always be true to myself and to be honest and compassionate in every aspect of my life.  I Always keep the door of my mind and soul open to new ideas, new sounds,  and I keep expanding my art and honing my craft.

Q-And if luck turns against you?                                                                     Kendra: Keep on doing the above, and know that the tide always changes--nothing ever stays the same.  So, keep playing music and have faith and be grateful for each day that I'm breathing.

Q-The best idea you ever came up with?                                                         Kendra: I tend to be focused in the present, so I guess I'd say my current project--a recording of Abbey Lincoln songs.  That's the idea or concept that has excited me the most in recent years (it's been several years in the making).  And my idea/choice of instrumentation and arrangements on a couple of the songs are, I think, some of my best work.

Q-What makes Kendra Shank so different from other sparkling stars? Kendra: Well, I believe each one of us is unique--we each have our special blend of life experience, musical influences, sound of our instrument, phrasing, approach to the music.  My particular sound and musical approach is influenced by a motley mixture of all the different kinds of music I've played (and listened to) over the years:  folk, country, bluegrass, French chansons, and jazz.  People have commented that I don't sound like anyone else.   If that's true, I suppose it might be because of that varied musical background.