StLJN Saturday at the Movies: The Kennedy Brothers

This week, let's take a look at videos featuring pianist Ray Kennedy and bass player Tom Kennedy. Brothers who grew up in the St. Louis suburb of Maplewood, both Kennedys have worked as sidemen with well-known jazz musicians. Ray served for a number of years as the piano player in guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli's group, while Tom has played both electric and acoustic bass with Steps Ahead, Bill Connors, Dave Weckl, Al DiMeola and many others.

The Kennedy Brothers will be performing together next month in St. Louis, headlining their very own gig from December 12 through December 15 at Jazz at the Bistro. Although they've recorded and played together many times, video footage of them seems to be scarce online. The one clip I found of the two of them together is above; it shows them performing "I Want To Be Happy" with violinist Aaron Weinstein, and was recorded in June 2007 during a tribute to Stephane Grappelli at Lincoln Center in New York.

The second clip features Tom Kennedy in a 2005 performance with the Dave Weckl Band. This performance is from Keitelejazz festival in Keitele, Äänekoski, Finland, and also features Steve Weingart on keyboards and Gary Meek on saxophone. In addition to the December dates at the Bistro with his brother Ray, Tom Kennedy will perform there again in March with Weckl and guitarist Mike Stern.