Jazz pianist Rodney Franklin was born on September 16, 1958, in Berkeley, California. At the age of six, he began piano lessons while attending Washington Elementary School. His muical influences include McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, George Duke, and Lonnie Liston Smith. By the age of 14, he was already leading his own funk band, In One Piece. The group recorded three of his compositions, although only one has been released since the 1972 sessions. He became an in-demand sideman, working with artists such as Freddie Hubbard, John Handy, Marlena Shaw, and Bill Summers. Rodney Franklin signed to CBS Records and issued his jazz fusion debut album In the Center in 1978. His second album, You’ll Never Know, was a success and included the UK Top 10 single “The Groove”. He continued to release a string of well-received albums including Rodney Franklin (1980), Endless Flight (1981), Learning to Love (1982), Marathon (1984), Skydance (1985) and It Takes Two (1986). Rodney Franklin left CBS, signed with BMG and then released the album Diamond Inside of You in 1988. The album featured the recorded debut of vocalist Jennifer Hudson, who would later become an acclaimed recording artist and actress. In the 1990s, Rodney Franklin released the album Love Dancin’ (1992) before recording a trio of albums with Bernie Krause: Rhythms of Africa (1995), Rain Forest Dreams (1995), and Ocean Odyssey (1998).
