Nigel Kennedy (born December 28, 1956 in Brighton, England) is a violinist and violist. He was a pupil at the Yehudi Menuhin School, under Yehudi Menuhin himself, and later at the Juilliard School under Dorothy DeLay.
A child prodigy, Kennedy shot to fame globally following his 1989 release of Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’, which was to become the biggest selling classical album of all time.
The last time a Brighton friend of mine saw Jimi Hendrix, he stalked past him with his black cap pulled down, his gloweringly foul vibe confirmed as he trashed his equipment on Sussex University's stage, ending a set so moodily short that support act Ten Years After had to play again.
Never a man to do things by halves, superstar violinist Nigel Kennedy plays classical music with intelligence, refinement and devotion – and rock, with a delight in all the explosively direct routes to euphoria that his other life eschews. Kennedy was coming from the latter angle on his opener at Ronnie Scott
It's gratifying, too, that a bona fide superstar in another genre wants to play jazz, and that he's quite humble – well, by Kennedy standards, anyway – about it.
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