About Kanoa

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, painting, hiking, and meeting Shiba Inus. She considers New York City her home, as well as Sapporo, Japan, where her family is from.Contact Kanoa

UPCOMING EVENTS:

DATETIMEGROUPVENUECITY
SEP 187:30PM 9:30PMMICAH THOMAS 'MOUNTAINS' ALBUM RELEASEJAZZ GALLERYMANHATTAN, NY
SEP 2812:30PMJOEL ROSS GOOD VIBESMONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVALMONTEREY, USA
OCT 107:30PM & 9:30PMJOEL ROSS GOOD VIBESREGATTABARCAMBRIDGE, MA
OCT 118PMJOEL ROSS GOOD VIBESUNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIREDURHAM, NH
OCT 128PM & 9:30PMYVONNE ROGERS QUARTETBAR BAYEUXBROOKLYN, NY
OCT 1420:00PABLO HELD WITH JOEY BARONLOFTKÖLN, DE
OCT 1721:00JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBESBLÅOSLO, NO
OCT 1820:00JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBESFASCHINGSTOCKHOLM, SE
OCT 19-JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBESAUDITORIO MUNICIPAL FORUM SEIXALSEIXAL, PT
OCT 21-JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES-LETOVICE, CZ
OCT 22-JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBESNOSPR CHAMBER HALLKATOWICE, PL
OCT 2320:30JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBESKULTURZENTRUM GEMSSINGEN, DE
OCT 2420:00JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBESJAZZ EN TÊTECLERMONT-FERRAND, FR
OCT 2520:30JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBESBIMHUISAMSTERDAM, NL

2024August
AUGUST 4-10
JAZZDANMARK
SUMMER SESSION 2024
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
July
JULY 2
7PM/8:30PM
MARTA SANCHEZ
ZINC BAR
MANHATTAN NYC
JULY 4
8PM/10PM
JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES
MONTREAL JAZZ FESTIVAL - PUB MOLSON
MONTREAL, CANADA
JULY 6
8PM/10PM
MILENA CASADO
MONTREAL JAZZ FESTIVAL - PUB MOLSON
MONTREAL, CANADA
JULY 12
5:30PM
MILENA CASADO
NORTH SEA JAZZ FESTIVAL - MISSOURI
ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
JULY 13
8PM
JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES
NORTH SEA JAZZ FESTIVAL - MADEIRA
ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
JULY 18
8:30PM
JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES
FESTIVAL DE JAZZ DE VITORIA GASTEIZ
VITORIA GASTEIZ, SPAIN
JULY 25
7PM
MARIA GRAND TRIO
JAZZCHUR
CHUR, SWITZERLAND
JULY 26-31
at
SIENA JAZZ
INTERNATIONAL SUMMER WORKSHOP 2024
SIENA, ITALY
June
JUNE 1
8PM/10PM
KALIA VANDEVER QUARTET
CLOSE UP
MANHATTAN NYC
JUNE 5
8PM/10PM
YVONNE ROGERS QUARTET
CLOSE UP
MANHATTAN NYC
JUNE 7
7:30PM/9:30PM
JOEL ROSS & FRIENDS
JAZZ GALLERY
MANHATTAN NYC
JUNE 8
7:30PM/9:30PM
JOEL ROSS & FRIENDS
JAZZ GALLERY
MANHATTAN NYC
JUNE 27
7:30PM/9:30PM
SASHA BERLINER QUINTET
JAZZ GALLERY
MANHATTAN NYC
JUNE 28
10:30PM/12:00AM
MICAH THOMAS W/ERIC MCPHERSON
MEZZROW
MANHATTAN NYC
May
MAY 9
8:30PM
DAYNA STEPHENS QUARTET
CUNY - AARON DAVIS HALL
NEW YORK
MAY 10
6PM
NEXT JAZZ LEGACY 2024
THE MILLENIUM STAGE AT THE KENNEDY CENTER
WASHINGTON DC
MAY 11
6PM
NEXT JAZZ LEGACY 2024
THE MILLENIUM STAGE AT THE KENNEDY CENTER
WASHINGTON DC
MAY 16
7PM
MILENA CASADO QUARTET
CITY OF ASYLUM - JAZZ POETRY MONTH 2024
PITTSBURGH PA
MAY 29
9:30PM
AARON PARKS TRIO
FESTIVAL CAMPUS JAZZ – UNIVERSIDADE DE AVEIRO
ÍLHAVO PORTUGAL
April
APR 9
JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES - TIVOLI VRENDENBURG CLUB NINE
UTRECHT, NETHERLANDS
APR 10
JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES
NEW MORNING
PARIS, FRANCE
APR 11
JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES
VORTEX
LONDON, UK
APR 13
JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES
OPUS JAZZ CLUB
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
APR 16
JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES
KULTURZENTRUM SCHLACHTHOF
BREMEN, GERMANY
APR 17
JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES
STADTGARTEN
KOLN, GERMANY
APR 18
JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES
KUNSTVEREIN FAMILIE MONTEZ
FRANKFURT, GERMANY
APR 19 & APR 20
JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES
RECOLETOS JAZZ MADRID
MADRID, SPAINFEB 23 | DILLON VADO TRIO W/DAVE KING | ART BOUTIKI
-
FEB 22 | DILLON VADO TRIO W/DAVE KING | KEYS JAZZ BISTRO
-
FEB 17 | DAYNA STEPHENS QUARTET | JAZZ AT THE BOLT
-
FEB 8 | SONYA BELAYA | THE JAZZ GALLERY
-
JAN 26 | ZOH AMBA W/ LESTER ST. LOUIS & KAORU WATANABE | ZURCHER GALLERY
2023NOVEMBER 6 & 7 | SEEDS (BROOKLYN) | AARON PARKS QUARTETNOVEMBER 10 - 19: AARON PARKS QUARTET EUROPE TOURNov 10: GUIMARAES/portugal
Nov 13: BARCELONA/spain
Nov 14 & 15: PARIS/france
Nov 16: BASEL/switzerland
Nov 17: LONDON/england
Nov 19: AMSTERDAM/netherlands
-OCTOBER 6 | 5:30-7PM | SEWARD PARK (NYC) | JASPER DUTZ QUARTETOCTOBER 13 & 14 | 7:30PM & 9PM | THE JAZZ GALLERY (NYC) | AARON PARKSOCTOBER 18 - NOVEMBER 4: JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES EUROPE TOUROct 18: LEIPZIG/germany
Oct 19: RÜSSELSHEIM/germany
Oct 20: BRUSSELS/belgium
Oct 21: SKOPJE/north macedonia
Oct 23: LONDON/england
Oct 25: GENT/belgium
Oct 28: CORMONS/italy
Oct 29: MURI/switzerland
Oct 30: BARCELONA/spain
Nov 2: LAUSANNE/switzerland
Nov 4: TAMPERE/finland

-
SEPTEMBER 3 | ?PM | DETROIT JAZZ FESTIVAL | JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBESSEPTEMBER 8 | 7:30PM | ROOM 623 (MANHATTAN) | DAYNA STEPHENS QUARTETSEPTEMBER 21 | 7:30PM & 9PM | MEZZROW (NYC) | ALICYN YAFFEE TRIO
SEPTEMBER 22 | 7PM | SAVANNAH JAZZ FESTIVAL (SAVANNAH, GA) | MILENA CASADO
SEPTEMBER 28 | 7:30PM & 9:30PM | JAZZ GALLERY (MANHATTAN) | KANOA MENDENHALL
FEATURING KALIA VANDEVER, MICAH THOMAS, CRAIG WEINRIB
SEPTEMBER 30 & OCTOBER 1 | GENERATIONS: INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL FRAUENFELD (SWITZERLAND) | DIDA PELLED & KANOA MENDENHALL
-
AUGUST 1 | 12PM-1:15PM | BPX SUMMER SERIES @ 399 PARK AVE | JUDETTE ELLISTONAUGUST 3 | 6:30PM | BROOKLYN CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC | MILENA CASADO QUINTETAUGUST 4 | 10PM | CON ALMA (PITTSBURG, PA) | LUCAS KADISH TRIO W/TIM ANGULOAUGUST 5 | 8PM | BOP STOP (CLEVELAND, OH) | LUCAS KADISH TRIO W/TIM ANGULOAUGUST 9 & 10 | 7PM | THE CABARET (INDIANAPOLIS, IN) | AMERICAN PATCHWORK QUARTET (CLAY ROSS, FALU SHAH, CLARENCE PENN)
-
JULY 26 | 8PM | BAR BAYEUX (BROOKLYN) | MICAH THOMAS W/ KALIA VANDEVER, ADAM O'FARRILL, LESLEY MOK
JULY 27 | 7:30/9:30PM | JAZZ GALLERY (MANHATTAN) | ALDEN HELLMUTH QUINTET

WATCH

AARON PARKS QUARTET AT BIMHUIS 2023

JOEL ROSS GOOD VIBES AT RECOLETOS MADRID 2024

MARIA GRAND TRIO "TII" 2019


DISCOGRAPHY (SIDEMAN)

in chronological order // by most recently released


photos

from live performances

playing Mr. McBride's bass in his big band. Monterey Jazz Festival, 2019

photo by r.r. jones (Joel Ross Good Vibes at Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Santa Cruz, CA)

strasbourg

with Maria Grand and Savannah Harris at Festival Jazzdor Strasbourg 2019. Strasbourg, France

♫ ♫ ♫

Contact

INSTAGRAM: