Makanda Ken McIntyre
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Makanda Ken McIntyre (born Kenneth Arthur McIntyre; also known as Ken McIntyre) (September 7, 1931 – June 13, 2001) was an American jazz musician and composer.
McIntyre was born in Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to his primary instrument, the alto saxophone, he also played flute, bass clarinet, oboe, bassoon, double bass, drum set, and piano, as many other woodwind instruments. He recorded thirteen albums, one of which was released posthumously. He composed well over 400 tunes, and wrote about 200 arrangements, reflecting different aspects of his Caribbean and African American roots, including blues, straight-ahead jazz, avant-garde, and calypso. His very first album entitled STONE BLUES was recorded in 1960, accompanied by local Boston musicians whom he had been rehearsing with for several years.
Over the course of his career, McIntyre performed and/or recorded with: (Daoud A. Haroon) Nat Adderley, Jaki Byard, Ron Carter, Eric Dolphy, Charlie Haden, David Murray, and Reggie Workman, and was a member of the innovative group Beaver Harris and the 360 Degree Ensemble.
After serving two years in the U.S. Army, McIntyre earned a bachelor's degree in music composition from the Boston Conservatory in 1958, with a certificate in flute performance, and a master's degree in music composition from the Boston Conservatory in 1959. He also went on to earn a doctorate (Ed.D.) in curriculum design from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1975.
In 1971 he founded the first African American Music program in the country at the State University of New York College at Old Westbury, teaching there for 24 years.[1] He also taught at Wesleyan University, Smith College, Central State University, and the New School's Jazz and Contemporary Music Program.
In the early 1990s he changed his name to Makanda Ken McIntyre. While performing in Zimbabwe, a stranger handed him a piece of paper with the word "Makanda" written on it; the word means "many skins" in the Ndebele language and "many heads" in Shona.[2]
McIntyre died in New York City at the age of 70.
