Editing Nigel Kennedy (section)

===Until 2000===
At the age of 16, Kennedy was invited by jazz violinist [[Stéphane Grappelli]] to appear with him at New York's [[Carnegie Hall]].<ref name="GuardArt1">{{cite web | author=Alfred Hickling | url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/sep/29/classicalmusicandopera2 | title=If you need a pillock, call me | work=The Guardian | date=29 September 2006 | access-date=5 December 2007}}</ref> He made his recording debut in 1984 with [[Edward Elgar|Elgar's]] [[Violin Concerto (Elgar)|Violin Concerto]]. His subsequent recording of [[Antonio Vivaldi|Vivaldi]]'s ''[[The Four Seasons (Vivaldi)|The Four Seasons]]'' with the [[English Chamber Orchestra]] in 1989 sold over two million copies and earned a place as one of the best-selling of all classical recordings.<ref name="CNN1">{{cite web | author=Steve Wright | url=http://edition.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Music/9908/23/wb.kennedy/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427132629/http://edition.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Music/9908/23/wb.kennedy/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=27 April 2006 | title=Not quite Vivaldi: Nigel Kennedy remembers Hendrix | work=CNN | date=23 August 1999 | access-date=5 December 2007}}</ref> The album remained at the top of the UK classical charts for over a year, with total sales of over three million units.<ref>{{cite web | author=John Brunning | url=http://www.classicfm.com/artists/nigel-kennedy/news/vivaldi-four-seasons-conversation/ | title=How Nigel Kennedy changed classical music forever | work=Classic FM Magazine | date=3 September 2014 | access-date=2 January 2015}}</ref>

In 1992, Kennedy announced the end of his career in classical music.<ref name="DW2016">{{cite news|url=https://www.dw.com/en/the-classical-music-pop-star-nigel-kennedy-at-60/a-36923474|title=The classical music pop star: Nigel Kennedy at 60|work=DW|date=28 December 2016|access-date=25 September 2021}}</ref> Around this time, he recorded the album ''Music in Colours'' with [[Stephen Duffy]]. He returned to the international concert platform in the mid-1990s. In 1997, he received an award for [[Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music|Outstanding Contribution to British Music]] at the [[BRIT Awards]], and in 2001 received the 'Male Artist of the Year' award.<ref name="Church">{{cite web | author=Michael Church | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/nigel-kennedy-dont-just-sit-there-do-something-polish-1980487.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220620/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/nigel-kennedy-dont-just-sit-there-do-something-polish-1980487.html |archive-date=20 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | title=Nigel Kennedy: Don't just sit there. Do something Polish | work=The Independent | date=3 September 2014 | access-date=2 January 2015}}</ref>

In other music genres, Kennedy recorded a cover of [[Jimi Hendrix]]'s "[[Fire (The Jimi Hendrix Experience song)|Fire]]" for the 1993 album ''[[Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix]]''. The same year, he made an appearance on [[Robert Plant]]'s solo album [[Fate of Nations]] on the track "Calling to you". In 1999, [[Sony Classical]] released ''[[The Kennedy Experience]]'', which featured [[Musical improvisation|improvisational recordings]] based on Hendrix [[musical composition|compositions]].<ref>{{cite web | author=Mark Coles | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/368573.stm | title=Kennedy plays Hendrix | work=BBC News | date=18 June 1999 | access-date=5 December 2007}}</ref> Kennedy's autobiography, ''Always Playing'', was published in 1991.<ref>Nigel Kennedy ''Always Playing''. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1991 {{ISBN|0-297-81209-2}}</ref>