Fast forward to the summer of 2006. Six years before I had rediscovered my long lost passion and started taking my instrument seriously. I had a band, BuzzUniverse, and we were starting to pick up steam. In my summer gig planning I decided to get us booked at my old hometown’s annual Village Fair. It was one of those things I just “wanted” to do. I didn’t expect to see anyone from Ossining that would remember me, and I didn’t expect it to lead to fame or fortune. I just thought it would be cool to perform on Main Street for the community I care so much about.
When we pulled into town, my mind jogged… “Is there anyone I should call?“… “Who still lives here?“ Then it popped into my head…. Kendall Buchanan!
I hit 411 on my cell phone and within seconds his phone was ringing and his wife answered. I explained who I was and why I was calling, and she told me that he was volunteering at one of the booths. I turned around, and there my man was…. I walked up and said “Kendall, Greg McLoughlin, your old bass student.” The look on his face was pure joy. 13 years had gone by and we hadn’t missed a note. It was magical to see him again and he looked exactly the same. For our set, Kendall stood at the side of the stage grinning from ear to ear for every note that we played. It felt so good to be on the other side with my hero looking on.
Kendall Buchanan is an extraordinary bass player, producer and all-around musician who lives a humble life 30 miles north of New York City in Ossining NY. Currently 57 years old, he pays the bills as an employee of Metro-North Railroads, and performs with various projects in New York City and Westchester County. Like many of the greats, he is not as well known as he should be, but seems to be fine with that. When Kendall picks up the bass, it is a sight to behold. He is one of the true masters.
While I consider Kendall my mentor, his mentor is his cousin Sonny Sharrock. Sadly, Sharrock died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1994, at the age of 53. Sonny Sharrock was one of the pioneers of free jazz in the 1960s. He did much work with flautist Herbie Mann and even had an uncredited guest appearance on Miles Davis’ classic A Tribute to Jack Johnson. One-time Rolling Stone’s Jazz Guitarist of the Year, he was someone who found great success but stuck to his roots and never forgot where he came from.
Kendall was Sonny Sharrock’s bassist from 1981-1987. Sharrock mentored Kendall from an amateur right out of college, until he asked him to join his touring band and took him around the world.
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