photo by June Yun

Kanoa Mendenhall is a New York City-based acoustic and electric bassist.Kanoa was born in Japan, but spent most of her youth on the Monterey Peninsula in California. She grew up surrounded by music - her father is a jazz musician and educator, and her mother is a piano teacher. At age 10, she started taking classical cello lessons, but gravitated towards the bass at age 12. Kanoa began her professional career at age 13, performing in Monterey and the San Francisco Bay Area with esteemed local musicians such as Bruce Forman, Vince Lateano, and Dick Whittington. During high school, she studied with the great Bay Area bassist John Shifflett.After completing high school, Kanoa moved to New York City to begin her studies at Columbia University and the Juilliard School. She studied bass with Ben Wolfe and participated in studio classes taught by Ron Carter at Juilliard for two years. While Kanoa was a student at Columbia, she was an early morning jazz radio programmer on WKCR-FM, a non-commercial radio station providing high quality programming in the New York area and streaming online worldwide. She graduated from Columbia in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in East Asian Languages and Cultures.Since graduating from college in 2019, Kanoa has performed across the U.S., Europe, and Canada as a member of vibraphonist Joel Ross' Good Vibes and with saxophonist/vocalist María Grand's trio. She has performed at North Sea Jazz Festival, Umbria Jazz Festival, SFJAZZ Center, Blue Note NY, Monterey Jazz Festival, and was part of the house band of the 2020 NEA Jazz Masters Ceremony led by Terri Lyne Carrington. In 2019, through The Jazz Gallery's Mentorship Series, Kanoa was given the opportunity to learn from and perform with acclaimed drummer and bandleader Kendrick Scott for two months, and got to perform with musicians such as Dayna Stephens, Aaron Parks, Charles Altura, Marquis Hill, John Ellis, Shai Maestro, and Mike Moreno. She has worked/taught at Jazz Camp West, Stanford Jazz Workshop, and has adjudicated at the Next Generation Jazz Festival.Kanoa enjoys gardening and meeting Shiba Inus.Contact Kanoa

UPCOMING EVENTS:

DATE	GROUP	VENUE	CITY
JAN 8	MILENA CASADO	LUNATICO	BROOKLYN
JAN 10	WINTER JAZZ FEST: ALDEN HELLMUTH	LOOVE ANNEX	BROOKLYN
JAN 10	WINTER JAZZ FEST: JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES	SUPERIOR INGREDIENTS	BROOKLYN
JAN 12	KALIA VANDEVER	SIGNATURE THEATER	MANHATTAN
JAN 13	MILENA CASADO	NUBLU	MANHATTAN
JAN 20	MILENA CASADO	UNTERFAHRT	MUNICH, DE
JAN 21	MILENA CASADO	PARADOX	TILBURG, NL
JAN 22	MILENA CASADO	BRUSSELS JAZZ FESTIVAL	BRUSSELS, BE
JAN 23	MILENA CASADO	DE DOELEN	ROTTERDAM, NL
JAN 24	MILENA CASADO	JASSMINE	WARSAW, PL
JAN 25	MILENA CASADO	BLUE NOTE	POZNAN, PL
JAN 27	MILENA CASADO	SUNSET SUNSIDE	PARIS, FR
JAN 28	MILENA CASADO	SUNSET SUNSIDE	PARIS, FR
JAN 31	HARLEM OF THE WEST	HEALDSBURG WINTERFEST	HEALDSBURG
FEB 1	JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES	HEALDSBURG WINTERFEST	HEALDSBURG
FEB 2	JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES	KUUMBWA JAZZ CENTER	SANTA CRUZ
FEB 3	JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES	LIBRETTO	PASO ROBLES
FEB 5	JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES	CONRAD PREBYS CENTER	LA JOLLA
FEB 10 - 15	JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES	VILLAGE VANGUARD	MANHATTAN
FEB 21	YVONNE ROGERS	BAR BAYEUX	BROOKLYN
FEB 25	JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES	BLUES ALLEY	WASHINGTON DC
FEB 26	JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES	DR. PHILLIPS CENTER	ORLANDO
FEB 28	JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES	JIMMY'S JAZZ & BLUES CLUB	PORTSMOUTH
MAR 6	JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES	CAFFE VIVACE	CINCINNATI
MAR 7	JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES	JAZZ KITCHEN	INDIANAPOLIS
APRIL 2 - 5	JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES	JAZZ SHOWCASE	CHICAGO
APRIL 10	JOSÉ JAMES	TRI-C JAZZ FEST	CLEVELAND
APRIL 11	JOSÉ JAMES	DENVER JAZZ FEST	DENVER
APRIL 24	YUMI ITO	JAZZFEST BONN	BONN, DE
MAY 7	JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES	ZIG ZAG	BERLIN, DE
MAY 8	JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES	JASSMINE	WARSAW, PL
MAY 9	JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES	KLUB ZAK	GDANSK, PL
MAY 10	JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES	LA CITÉ MIROIR	LIEGE, BE
MAY 12	JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES	NEW MORNING	PARIS, FRANCE
MAY 18	JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES	KEREMPUH	ZAGREB, HR
MAY 22	JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES	DE DOELEN	ROTTERDAM, NL
MAY 23	JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES	JAZZHALL	HAMBURG, DE