Kendra Foster

Pg. 65 "With Kendra Foster wailing harmonies beside him, D'Angelo seemed to take courage in the sound of his own voice"
Pg. 59 "While they shouted out greetings and gave each other hugs, Kendra Foster, who used to sing with Parliament-Funkadelic, glided into the room trailing a comet's tail of reddish-blond curls."
- New Yorker Magazine, Nov.12, 2012

Bob Thompson says that it isn't easy coming up with something new every year for his special, "Joy To The World" holiday show. But after 14 years, there is a sort of method to the madness. He has kind of a ritual that helps keep the show fresh. "Well, usually, I sort of lock myself up over the Thanksgiving holidays", he says, "I work on the arrangements. The real trick is finding the material we haven't done." Thompson goes through catalogs and old records to find new things for "Joy To The World", carefully mixing the old and familiar with the contemporary. "We have some traditional favorites and some more modern songs," he says, "We're doing a Stevie Wonder Christmas tune, for instance." The overalll theme of the show also changes with the guest singers brought in. Each brings a particular musical experience to the stage. Previous guests have included jazz singers, Dominique Eade, Susan Warner, and Allan Harris, as well as R&B legend Fontella Bass. "This year, we have Kendra coming in from Florida to sing for us," Thompson says. Kendra Foster isn't exactly known for singing Christmas carols. "Kendra sings with George Clinton," Thompson says. "So this year, some of the arrangements will be a little more on the funk side." Beyond Foster's vocal talents, Thompson says that this year's show will spotlight different aspects of the band. "We're looking at duets and trio pieces," he says, "Just breaking the band down in different configurations." And, while new sounds keep the audience guessing, this year all the usual suspects are back. Last year bassist John Ingram fell during rehearsals and was hospitalized on the eve of the performance. A fill-in was quickly called in and the show went on without a hitch, but Thompson says that they've made it clear that Ingram doesn't get to sit this one out. "Yeah, we've given him a little bit of a hard time about that," Thompson admits. "But he's back this year, along with everybody else. Really this is a show we all look forward to doing every year." - The Charleston Gazzette

"Singer's set a hit at WVU-P gala"

"Singer Kendra Foster (her professional name is just Kendra) was a hit at the West Virginia University-Parkersburg President's Gala last Saturday evening at the Parkersburg Art Center. The talented performer is the daughter of WVU-P's President Marie Foster Gnage. Kendra, who lives in Tallahassee, Fla., feels at home singing many genres of music, including jazz, gospel, blues, rock, funk, R&B and easy-listenning favorites like the ones she so expertly sang Saturday, "In a Sentimental Mood" and "Summertime". For the past five years, Kendra has sung with funk musician George Clinton, who has been a popular musician/producer since the 1970s. Clinton, lead vocalist Kendra and other members of P-Funk appeared on the "Jay Leno Show" and the "Carson Daly Show" last November around the time of Clinton's first album release in 10 years. Kendra has her own double-disc album--a fusion of jazz, blues, and rock-- coming out next month and is looking forward to singing on a Christmas show in Charleston with piano-playing Bob Thompson." - Michael J. Christman, Parkersburg Sentinel

When professional singer Kendra Foster was a student at Lincoln High School in the mid-90's, her class took a trip to to see FAMU's Orchesis Contemporary Dance Theatre in concert. "I came to the Orchesis performance, and my breath was taken away, I was knocked out", Foster, 30, said. "I decided right then that I was going to go to FAMU because I wanted to be part of Orchesis."
Foster made good on her promise and danced with Orchesis during her school days at FAMU in the late '90's. After graduation, she landed a job singing and touring the world with George Clinton's famed Parliament/P-Funk All-Stars. She leaves for a P-Funk tour of Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore later this winter.
This weekend, though, Foster returns to her alma mater and former dance troupe to sing the centerpiece song for a concert called "Sankofa". Foster belts the original song a cappella as she slowly strolls across the stage with nothing more than a microphone. The lyrics go: "You must know where you came from to know where you're going... We must not ignore the sound of our ancestor's singing."
"Sankofa means reaching back or looking forward," Orchesis artistic director Gaynell Sherrod said during a rehearsal Wednesday night.
"I approached Kendra with the idea (of writing the song) and discussed it with her. She went away and came back with this wonderful song. People are going to love it."
"I feel this incredible magic and energy when I come here," Foster said. "It makes me want to dance again."
While Foster may not be trying out any tricky dance moves as a guest artist......" - Tallahassee Democrat