Bernard Atwell McKinney, later Kiane Zawadi (November 26, 1932 – May 21, 2024) was an American jazz trombonist and euphonium player, one of the few jazz soloists on the latter instrument.

Biography

McKinney was born into a family of ten children, several of whom also became musicians. He is the uncle of R&B producer and jazz pianist Carlos "Los Da Mystro" McKinney. He first worked with Barry Harris and Sonny Stitt in 1951, and played with Alvin Jackson's band early in the decade. Toward the middle of the 1950s he was with Art Blakey, and he moved with Yusef Lateef to New York City in 1959. In the 1960s he played with Illinois Jacquet, James Moody, and Curtis Fuller. Later that decade he adopted the name Kiane Zawadi. In the 1970s he performed with Archie Shepp, Carlos Garnett, Harold Vick, Frank Foster, Charles Tolliver, Abdullah Ibrahim, and McCoy Tyner. In 1978, he played in the pit orchestra for Dancin', a Broadway show. He appeared at a Charlie Parker tribute at Town Hall in New York City in 1985. Other musicians Zawadi worked with include Mongo Santamaría, Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Joe Henderson, and Aretha Franklin. McKinney died in Brooklyn, New York, on May 21, 2024, at the age of 91.

Discography

As sideman

With Frank Foster With Slide Hampton With Freddie Hubbard With Clifford Jordan With Yusef Lateef With others

Sources