The one thing that Kenny Malone wanted to communicate most during our interview was a sense of joy. He told me so, although he didn’t have to. His whole make-up—who he is as a person and how he approaches music—is joy. I knew it the moment he walked into the room with his strong gait and hearty laugh. Kenny is the ultimate artiste, constantly pondering music—its sound, its attitude, its emotional life, its texture, its dance. He considers all those factors before putting a stick, a brush, or a hand to a drumhead. “I’ve been studying the effects of music and rhythms on our emotions,” he says. “I’m trying to use sound and music intelligently to stimulate and create positive emotions in people, and to make them want to dance. I learned a lot in the past year about how to inspire somebody to dance. When I’m playing dances, I […]

July 1985 Issue