Kenny Rankin

In a remarkable recording career that spans three and a half decades, Kenny Rankin has an impressive set of creative credentials - as an insightful songwriter, a distinctive guitarist and, above all, a world-class singer possessing an uncanny ability to cut straight to a song's emotional heart. Rankin's multifaceted talent is spotlighted on his Verve debut, A Song for You, on which the veteran stylist applies his singular interpretive skills to an artfully assembled set of songs drawn from a variety of sources, with sublimely sympathetic instrumental support from some of music's most respected players. Rankin's genre-bending adventurousness is demonstrated by an interpretation of the Thelonious Monk jazz standard "'Round Midnight," and a poignant take on the heartbreaking "Where Do You Start," written by Johnny Mandel in collaboration with Alan Bergman and ASCAP's President and Chairman Marilyn Bergman. While his supple, pristine tenor has earned him status as a singer's singer, Rankin's songwriting talents have been widely recognized by his peers.