Kathryn Ballard Shut

Kathryn Ballard Shut (b. 1972 - ) (pronounced \ˈshüt\, as in the English word "shoot") is an American jazz pianist, vocalist, music producer and promoter, syndicated radio music host, and president of TIMKAT Entertainment, LLC, an independent record label based in Denver, Colorado, in the United States of America. Her father was the late trumpeter, saxophonist, and vocalist, Tim Ballard, whom was honored as an inductee into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame (2008, as member of Capitol Records recording artists, Garry Mac and the Mac Truque (1969-1971)) and whom himself was a 46-year veteran of the music industry until his passing in 2009 at the age of 61.

Early Life and Education

Ballard Shut was born in 1972 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, but after her parents divorced in August 1977, moved to Kansas City, Missouri when she was 4 years old. She was raised by her mother Sharyn and step-father, J. Michael Pendergist, in Eastern Jackson County, Missouri from 1977-1995 and lived in the area again from 1999-2000. Her first and primary instrument was the piano at age 8, but starting in fifth grade, she also earned the first chair clarinet spot in the school band. However, Ballard Shut deeply wanted to play in jazz band, and upon learning that clarinetists were only welcome in a jazz ensemble if they were also saxophonists, she switched to tenor and baritone saxophone and continued to excel on these instruments throughout high school.

Among her musical honors as a youth, she auditioned and was selected from hundreds of area-wide competitors to perform with the 1989 Kansas City All District "Blue" Jazz Band (on baritone saxophone) and under the direction of Dr. James Popejoy, was the honored recipient on saxophone of the prestigious John Philip Sousa Band Award, granted to one band student from each American high school that demonstrated the highest quality of musical excellence within his or her senior year. Ballard Shut was active in every musical organization offered, including all bands and also as one of only two mezzo-soprano vocalists selected to sing in the school's 40-member honor choir, Camerata, under the direction of the esteemed Mr. Noel Fulkerson. As the string orchestra did not allow saxophonists as a general rule, she instead performed in the percussion section, having learned timpani, crash cymbals, bass drum, and other auxiliary instruments at Central Missouri State University's Summer Music Camp in 1988 and 1990. Because of her extreme musical versatility and due to always seeing her with a different instrument in her hand, by her senior year, her high school band granted her an additional humorous award at the annual banquet entitled, "I Have More Instruments Than The United States Marine Corps Band".

After graduating from Raytown High School in Raytown, Missouri in 1990, she first attended The University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri as a Music Education major from 1990-1993 and in 1993 was inducted into Sigma Alpha Iota music fraternity, Epsilon Omega chapter. Disenchanted with the rigors of the major, in 1993, Ballard Shut, changed her field of study in her junior year from Music Education to Spanish, moved back home, and transferred to Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in 1995. As a result, she won a full-ride scholarship in 1995-1996 to Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and worked as a Teaching Assistant in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.

In 1997, after leaving the program at Marquette to spend a year of self-discovery, Ballard Shut found that she could apply her honed teaching skills in the growing information technology field, eventually leading to strong experience as a data architect and team manager in the data warehousing field.

Musical Family Legacy

Ballard Shut's family was particularly musical on her father's side. Her paternal grandmother, Velma Ballard Mitchell (née DeWeese), was first an accomplished pianist and then an organist later in life, and Velma's father, (Grover Seldon DeWeese) was a fiddler who was also the proprietor of a dairy farm in Miami County, Kansas. DeWeese's fiddle, passed down to her from her father, hangs in a showcase in Ballard Shut's home. Still other members of Ballard Shut's great-grandmother's family history (Esther DeWeese (née Reimal)), had been either musicians or traveling thespians. As an adult, she is a multi-faceted musician who has performed jazz as both pianist and also woodwind "doubler" (clarinet/flute/saxes) in big bands, small jazz combos, theatre productions, and charity concerts.

Recent Events

In 2000, Ballard Shut moved from Kansas City to Denver, Colorado. From 2002-2008, she served as a member of several jazz orchestras within The Colorado Jazz Workshop under the leadership of Hugh Ragin. In 2008, after five seasons of professional coaching and performing with the organization, she left the CJW to form her own group, known in Denver as 'Lost Soul Jazz Combo', now led by trumpeter Mike Evans. She is currently a co-composer/author, American label partner, and international press agent for the Italian jazz-funk ensemble, Camera Soul (2012–present).

In addition to collaborating with jazz & soul master and father, the late Tim Ballard, Ballard Shut has also worked closely with Latino film and music star Daniel Valdez (of films 'Zoot Suit' and 'La Bamba'; stage production, 'The Westside Oratorio'), Los Angeles-based Nigerian vocalist Douyé, and Front Range (Colorado) jazz artists Tony Exum, Jr., Mark Diamond, Keith Oxman, Drew Morell, Linda Theus-Lee, Mike Evans, Kevin MacInness, Jared Johnson, Jean-Luc Davis, Ron Bland, and many others.

On October 16, 2007, largely due to her father's ailing health during his decade-long battle with cancer and to grant his wish for a company to continue his musical legacy, Ballard Shut founded TIMKAT Entertainment LLC, an independent record label devoted to producing world-class jazz and soul music. When her father passed in June 2009, the label went dormant for three years; however, since 2012, TIMKAT has achieved positive notoriety and modest success through a strong fan following on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, ReverbNation, music review sites, and via Internet radio play, primarily on stations based in the USA, France, Australia, and the United Kingdom. The label's preferred sales channel is CDBABY but it also utilizes CDBABY's extensive digital music network to distribute its albums globally via major mp3 stores such as iTunes and Amazon. The label often collaborates with other independent labels worldwide and serves as an American partner label for international distribution and marketing throughout North America.

Aside from producing music, Ballard Shut also produces and hosts a popular monthly syndicated Internet radio show called Modern Soul Sauce, dedicated to showcasing music from top independently-produced soulful artists. The syndicated program was commissioned by Jerome Demortier of Radio Kaos Caribou (Paris, France), world-premiered in October 2012, and is currently featured on fourteen Internet global radio networks. The show has helped to bring exposure to over 200 independent artists, the majority of which are not associated with the TIMKAT label.

Due to her album credits, in 2012, Ballard Shut became a Voting Member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences aka "The Recording Academy", known internationally for its Grammy Awards, after having first been an Associate Member (2008–present). She is also a member of ASCAP as a composer, author, and music publisher (popular music) (TIMKAT Entertainment), IPIs 6910514154 and 672818809.

Recreationally, Ballard Shut is an avid traditional recurve bow archer and a member of both the Colorado State Archery Association (CFAA) and the National Field Archery Association(NFAA), as well as a former member of the Kansas City Swing Dance Club. She is a fluent speaker of English and Spanish, with basic training in Russian, French, Italian, German, and Hebrew.

Discography

2015 - Camera Soul - Album: Dress Code (post-production)
(Composer/author, American label, album promotions)
Writing Credits: 'The Purpose' (author), 'Glow' (author), 'Push Play' (author), and 'Around The World' (co-composer)

2013 - Camera Soul - Album: Not For Ordinary People
(Composer/author, American label, album promotions)
Writing Credits: 'Not For Ordinary People'(author), 'My Heart' (author), 'Time Fades Away' (author), and 'Locked Inside' (co-composer-author)

2012 - Lost Soul - Album: Live at Pec Too!
(Executive producer, pianist, vocalist)

2012 - Tim Ballard - Album: Singing Positive to the People: 35th Anniversary Limited Edition
(Executive producer)

2005 - Daniel Valdez and Su Teatro (Denver) - Album/Live Performance: The Westside Oratorio
(Band leader, pianist)

Awards and Honors

August 2013—Akademia Award: "Best Funk/Fusion/Jam Song" - Camera Soul - 'My Heart' (author)
August 2014—Akademia Award: "Best R&B Song", 'Locked Inside' (co-composer and author)