The first in a series of first-person stories appearing in February, Black History Month.

Ready for his next solo

By LANE DeGREGORY

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 2, 2001

Ryan Kendrick lives in Clearwater. His mom, Rovana, sells cable contracts for Time Warner. His dad, Frank, drives buses for Pinellas County public schools. They have been married for 34 years.

The highlight of Ryan's life, he says, was playing saxophone for five years in Sonny LaRosa's America's Youngest Jazz Band. He performed solos in New York, Idaho and New Orleans, for crowds of more than 500. In January, Ryan had to drop out of the band because he was too old: He turned 14.

This is his story.

I go to Safety Harbor Middle. I'm in eighth grade.

I'm average in school, like A's, B's, a C in geography. Eventually, yes, I want to go to college.

I like to listen to music, play music, hang out with friends. I don't really hang out with people who do bad stuff, drugs, violence. Mom's like, "Just pretend I'm always with you." So that's what I try to do.

Everybody hangs out with everybody at school. Not really by race or nationality or whatever. Not like, you're white so you can't be my friend.

(But being African-American) makes it harder, in a way. 'Cause some people think all black people do is, like, bad stuff. That kind of makes me want to try harder to prove those people wrong.

I started trying to play the piano at about 5. I used to go sit in there while my mom would practice. That's really the first thing I remember, playing the piano. Then she got me a teacher when I was like 8. Then I got a drum teacher. And my mom got me a sax one day when I was 9. I used to see it on TV and be like, "Whoa, that's cool! That's way cool!" The tenor sax was too big for me. My mom had to put it up on a pillow to boost it up. And it was really hard to learn. I used to blow forever, and I couldn't get any note out. Then when I did, it was like, "Wheew!" Like learning to walk.

When I'm playing, it's like I don't think of anything else. I have no worries. Everything sort of stops.

When I used to play in Sonny's band and be on stage, and everyone'd be out there, listening and looking and clapping and stuff, and I'd be seeing old people crying and stuff, that was great. That was cool. I want to go into the record industry in some way, maybe a recording artist. Some people get a rush out of skydiving. I get a rush out of having people cheer for me.

I don't exactly want to be another face in the crowd. I wouldn't mind becoming famous at a young age -- for like, music. So I'm playing at different events. And I practice.

Sundays, I go to church -- some 'cause I want to and some 'cause my mom and dad make me. Mount Olive A.M.E. That's in Clearwater by the Trail. I sing in the youth choir and play music there, too.

I play music with my mom there, sometimes. She plays piano. It's good, because like most mothers and sons don't really do that kind of stuff. It's pretty neat.

I like life, the way it's going so far. I don't know. I'm usually happy.

- Interview by Lane DeGregory, Times staff writer

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.