Hornby Island Blues Workshop

Kenny 'Blues Boss' Wayne

A child prodigy on piano, Kenny was encouraged by his preacher father to play gospel music. But he was also secretly introduced to the radically more exciting boogie woogie style by his rebel uncle. By his early teen years, Kenny was an accomplished working keyboardist and soon he was in tight with the burgeoning Los Angeles soul/R&B scene. He played with Delaney & Bonnie Bramlett and quickly became first call keyboardist for live club and concert dates around the area. Work with Billy Preston, members of Sly & The Family Stones and the Doobie Brothers soon followed. Upon moving up to Canada, Kenny's reputation as a gifted keyboardist with a warm rich gritty voice put him at the top of everyone's on call list. He quickly established himself not only with the R&B circuit, but also with Vancouver's blues and jazz communities. Kenny's full transformation into "Blues Boss" (the nickname taken from the title of Amos Milburn's Motown Records comeback album) came about following a 1994 tour of Europe. Kenny's longtime passion for Fats Domino and Amos Milburn paid off in the form of star treatment from the piano loving European music fans. Possibly the best of modern day blues piano practitioners, Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne has been hailed by Living Blues Magazine as "an artist bringing the piano to the front ranks of contemporary blues."