Kenny Drew
Background information
Birth nameKenneth Sidney Drew
Born(1928-08-28)August 28, 1928
New York, U.S.
DiedAugust 4, 1993(1993-08-04) (aged 64)
Copenhagen, Denmark
GenresJazz, hard bop, post-bop, mainstream jazz
Instrument(s)Piano
LabelsBlue Note, Xanadu, SteepleChase, Riverside, Verve, Soul Note, Storyville

Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew (August 28, 1928[1] – August 4, 1993)[2] was an American-Danish jazz pianist.

Biography

Drew was born in New York City, United States,[1] and received piano lessons from the age of five.[3] He attended the High School of Music & Art in Manhattan. Drew's first recording, in 1950, was with Howard McGhee, and over the next two years he worked in bands led by Buddy DeFranco, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, and Charlie Parker, among others.[3] After a brief period with his own trio in California, Drew returned to New York, playing with Dinah Washington, Johnny Griffin, Buddy Rich, and several others over the following few years.[3] He led many recording sessions throughout the 1950s, and in 1957 appeared on John Coltrane's album, Blue Train.[1]

Drew was one of the American jazz musicians who settled in Europe around this period: he moved to Paris in 1961 and to Copenhagen three years later.[3] While he sacrificed much of the interest of the American jazz audience, he gained a wide following across Europe. Kenny Drew was a well-known figure on the Copenhagen jazz scene, recording many sessions with the Danish bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen.[1] "Living in Copenhagen, and travelling out from there," Drew remarked, "I have probably worked in more different contexts than if I had stayed in New York where I might have got musically locked in with a set-group of musicians. This way, I have been able to keep my musical antennas in shape, while at the same time I have had more time to study and also get deeper into my own endeavors."[4]

Drew and Dexter Gordon appeared on screen in Ole Ege's theatrically released hardcore pornographic film, Pornografi – en musical (1971), for which they composed and performed the score.[5]

Drew died in August 1993 in Copenhagen, Denmark[2] (he had stomach cancer, but it was unclear if this was the cause of death) and was interred in the Assistens Cemetery in Nørrebro, Copenhagen. He has a street named after him in southern Copenhagen, "Kenny Drews Vej" (Eng., Kenny Drew Street).[6]

His son, Kenny Drew Jr., was also a jazz pianist.[1]

Playing style

His touch was described in The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz as "precise", and his playing as being a combination of bebop-influenced melodic improvisation and block chords, including "refreshingly subtle harmonizations".[3]

Discography

As leader

Recording date Title Label Year released Notes
1953-04 New Faces, New Sounds Blue Note 1953 Trio, with Curly Russell (bass), Art Blakey (drums)
1953,
1954-09		 Kenny Drew and His Progressive Piano Norgran 1954 One track solo piano; some tracks trio with Gene Wright (bass), Lawrence Marable (drums); some tracks trio with Wright (bass), Charles "Specs" Wright (drums); also released as The Modernity of Kenny Drew; contains tracks originally released on The Ideation of Kenny Drew
1955-12 Talkin' & Walkin' Jazz: West 1956 Quartet, with Joe Maini (alto sax, tenor sax), Leroy Vinnegar (bass), Lawrence Marable (drums)
1956-09 Kenny Drew Trio Riverside 1956 Trio, with Paul Chambers (bass), Philly Joe Jones (drums)
1957-02 A Harry Warren Showcase Judson 1957 Duo, with Wilbur Ware (bass)
1957-02 A Harold Arlen Showcase Judson 1957 Duo, with Wilbur Ware (bass)
1957-02 I Love Jerome Kern Riverside 1957 Duo, with Wilbur Ware (bass)
1957-03,
1957-04		 This Is New Riverside 1957 Some tracks quartet, with Donald Byrd (trumpet), Wilbur Ware (bass), G.T. Hogan (drums); most tracks quintet, with Hank Mobley (tenor sax) added
1957-10 Pal Joey Riverside 1958 Trio, with Wilbur Ware (bass), Philly Joe Jones (drums)
1960-12 Undercurrent Blue Note 1961 Quintet, with Freddie Hubbard (trumpet), Hank Mobley (tenor sax), Sam Jones (bass), Louis Hayes (drums)
1973-04 Duo SteepleChase 1973 Duo, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass)
1973-10,
1973-12		 Everything I Love SteepleChase 1974 Solo piano
1974-02 Duo 2 SteepleChase 1974 Duo, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass)
1974-05 Dark Beauty SteepleChase 1974 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Albert Heath (drums)
1974-05 If You Could See Me Now SteepleChase 1975 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Albert Heath (drums)
1974-07 Duo Live in Concert SteepleChase 1975 Duo, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass); in concert
1975-09 Morning SteepleChase 1976 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Philip Catherine (guitar)
1977-02 In Concert SteepleChase 1979 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Philip Catherine (guitar); in concert
1977-02 Lite Flite SteepleChase 1977 Quintet, with Thad Jones (flugelhorn, cornet), Bob Berg (tenor sax), George Mraz (bass), Jimmy Cobb (drums)
1977-08 Ruby, My Dear SteepleChase 1980 Trio, with David Friesen (bass), Clifford Jarvis (drums)
1978-10 Home Is Where the Soul Is Xanadu 1978 Trio, with Leroy Vinnegar (bass guitar), Frank Butler (drums)
1978-10 For Sure! Xanadu 1978 Quintet, with Charles McPherson (alto sax), Sam Noto (trumpet), Leroy Vinnegar (bass), Frank Butler (drums)
1980-11 Afternoon In Europe Baystate 1983 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Ed Thigpen (drums)
1981-01 All The Things You Are Lob 1981 Quartet, with Junior Cook(tenor sax), Sam Jones (bass), Jimmy Cobb (drums); in concert
1981-11 It Might as Well Be Spring Soul Note 1982 Solo piano
1981-11 Your Soft Eyes Soul Note 1982 Trio, with Mads Vinding (bass), Ed Thigpen (drums)
1982-03 Playtime: Children's Songs by Kenny Drew and Mads Vinding Metronome 1982 Duo, with Mads Vinding (bass)
1982-03 The Lullaby Baystate 1982 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Ed Thigpen (drums)
1982-09 Moonlit Desert Baystate 1982 With Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Ed Thigpen (drums), The Almost Big Band
1983-01 Swingin' Love Baystate 1983 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Ed Thigpen (drums)
1983-02 And Far Away Soul Note 1983 Quartet, with Philip Catherine (guitar), Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Barry Altschul (drums)
1983-06 Fantasia Baystate 1987 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Ed Thigpen (drums)
1984-05 Trippin' Baystate 1984 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Ed Thigpen (drums)
1985-08 By Request Baystate 1985 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Ed Thigpen (drums)
1985-08 By Request II Baystate 1986 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Ed Thigpen (drums)
1986-06 Elegy Baystate 1987 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Ed Thigpen (drums)
1987-06 Dream Baystate 1987 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Ed Thigpen (drums)
1988-08 Impressions Alfa 1988 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Alvin Queen (drums)
1989-05 Recollections Alfa 1989 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Alvin Queen (drums)
1990-03 New York Stories Alfa 1990 Quartet, with Hank Jones (piano), Mads Vinding (bass), Billy Hart (drums)
1990-05 Expressions Alfa 1990 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Alvin Queen (drums)
1990-10 The First & The Last
also released as The Falling Leaves (2021)		 Baybridge 1997 Trio, with George Mraz (bass), Lewis Nash (drums)
1991-01 Standards Request Live at the Keystone Korner Tokyo (Vol.1 & Vol.2) Alfa 1998 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Alvin Queen (drums); in concert
1991-01,
1991-02		 Plays Standards Live 'Autumn Leaves' Alfa 1991 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Alvin Queen (drums); in concert
1992-05 Piano Night Pony Canyon 1992 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Alvin Queen (drums); in concert
1992-06 Cleopatra's Dream Alfa 1992 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Alvin Queen (drums)
1992-07 At the Brewhouse Storyville 1992 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Alvin Queen (drums); in concert
1992-10 Plays Standards Live At The Blue Note Osaka Alfa 1992 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Alvin Queen (drums); in concert
1992-10 The Last Recording; Live At The Blue Note Osaka Alfa 1992 Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Alvin Queen (drums); in concert

Compilation

As sideman

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 126. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
  2. 1 2 "Obituary: Kenny Drew". The Independent. 23 October 2011. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Feather, Leonard, & Ira Gitler (2007). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz, Oxford University Press.
  4. ↑ February 1976 liner notes to Morning by Jørgen Frigård.
  5. ↑ "PORNOGRAFI". Memory.loc.gov. July 26, 1971. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Kenny Drew, Jazz Pianist, 64". The New York Times. August 7, 1993. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
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