We started with music from the Heartland, became the Heartland Consort, then
Heartland Consort Music,
the rest is history...

yes, tour nationally and internationally on a regular basis.

made more/better music more easily accessible

don't know

Founded in 1986 to promote the wealth of talent in the Midwest. Celebrating over 20 years of "Music from the Heartland"!
Group Members
James Kennedy - 6 & 12 String electric and acoustic guitars, vocals Matt Alles - Bass
Joe Patterson - Drums
Catherine Lawson - electric violin, vocals
Instruments
6 & 12 string acoustic and electric guitars, bass, drums and other percussion, electric violin, male and/or female vocals
Albums
Blind World, Recollections, Beyond Dreams, Across the Borders, Broken Branches, Beneath the Sea, Celestial Traveller, Bits N Pieces, Luna, Too Many Pictures, Rock N Roll Heart, Vagabond, The Man Behind The Curtain, Patch Work, Tent Show, Unknown

Take a mixture of Jimmy Page, Jimmy Hendrix, Pat Metheny, Leo Kotke, John Scofied, Dave Matthews, Bela Fleck, Peter Gabriel, add world music influences, and top it all of with a dash of humor and you have the original sounds of Heart Consort Music.

Heart Consort Music performs contemporary and straight ahead jazz , latin, rock/fusion, and more on 6 & 12 string electric & acoustic guitars in a solo, duet, or trio setting. Past performances have included the Montreux, North Sea, and Euro-Disney Jazz Festivals, as well as a variety of other European venues.The group tours regularly in the U.S. The style has been called "Midwestern Contemporary Music" since it combines jazz, contemporary and world influences filtered through the Heartland of the Midwest. This distinctly Midwestern flavor sets HCM apart in a market full of clich?s and clones. You will certainly understand why James has received international attention for their performances and recordingsLooking for a fresh breeze of musical excellence to spice up your music repertoire? Look no further. Meet James Kennedy, jazzman/rocker/fusionist extraordinaire. From his home base deep in the American Heartland (Iowa), James brings forth a wonderful, personable style of music that ranges in depth and flavor, often branded a sort of "Midwestern Jazz." Sometimes reminiscent of world music, other times synthesizer-reliant electronic composition?this internationally acclaimed artist can do it all and has. Kennedy has taken his style and shared it with an ever-shrinking world; he has been performed in a medley of shows in America, the Montreux Jazz Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival, and the Euro-Disney center. From the west coast to the European Continent, Kennedy is an artist that his native Iowa should be proud of. His CD Blind World has been heralded as "original," "masterful," and even "a real midwestern gem." One of America's finest exports, the music and welcome originality of James Kennedy is something sure to catch on in this increasingly shrinking world. Fusion with a sometimes ethnic flavor . . . reminiscent all at once of Jean Luc Ponty, Yes and early Genesis. An off-white wedding; a joyful union of guitar and violin. This is one marriage we hope will last!