Art Dedrick

Description

Art Dedrick co-founded Kendor Music, the first company to publish professional-sounding jazz charts that were playable by students at all skill levels. This book documents his remarkable life overcoming daunting challenges to become a trail blazer in jazz education. It includes interviews with Sammy Nestico, John LaBarbera, Rusty Dedrick and others, as well as photos, news articles and correspondence with colleagues such as Doc Severinsen.

Born on a small farm in Western New York, Dedrick studied music and went on to play trombone and arrange for major big bands, including Red Norvo and Vaughn Monroe. In 1944, he was stricken with polio and had to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life.  Subsequently, he returned to his hometown to teach music, but soon realized there were few good scores for his school dance bands to play, so in 1954, he and two other music teachers founded Kendor Music. Kendor published hundreds of Dedrick’s compositions and arrangements, as well as other jazz greats such as Sammy Nestico, Thad Jones, Phil Woods, Buddy Rich and Toshiko Akiyoshi.

In the late ‘60s, Dedrick launched the Free Design, a pop vocal group consisting of his four oldest children. They recorded seven albums, including their hit single “Kites Are Fun”, and appeared on numerous TV shows such as Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show and the Mike Douglas Show.