AVID Jazz presents four classic Wynton Kelly albums, including original liner notes on a finely re-mastered and low priced double CD.
“Piano Interpretations”; “Piano” “Kelly Blue” and “Someday My Prince Will Come”.
Born in Jamaica in 1931, but growing up in Brooklyn, New York City from the age of four, Wynton Kelly was barely out of his teens when he cut his first recording session “Piano Interpretations” in 1951. As a young prodigy Wynton had already played with Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Young and as accompanist to Dinah Washington for three years! Drafted into the army in 1952, it would be another six years before he made another album under his own name. Music for Trio and Quartet feature on “Piano” an album of “two quite different flavors” to quote from the original liner notes. In the Trio “for a more subdued, moody, almost delicate vein” we find Wynton joined by Kenny Burrell on guitar and Paul Chambers on bass. For the Quartet, Philly Joe Jones steps into the drum seat where Burrell’s guitar takes on “more of a horn’s role”. More music for Trio but now also featuring some tunes for Sextet, “Kelly Blue” recorded in 1959 features only opening and closing cuts that could be strictly called blues tunes. However as the original liner notes explain “the other four numbers lend themselves fully to the same sort of soulful, blues-y treatment adding up to an album strongly steeped in the earthy mood and spirit we feel is best described as “Kelly Blue”. Joining Wynton in the Sextet are Nat Adderley on trumpet, Bobby Jaspar on flute, Benny Golson on tenor sax, Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. For the Trio recordings Wynton is joined by Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Here’s a great quote from Wynton’s old boss, Miles Davis, when asked for an analysis of his playing, taken from the original liner notes to our final selection “Someday My Prince Will Come”, “Wynton’s the light for a cigarette. He lights the fire and keeps it going. Without him there’s no smoking”. That’s Miles! Here’s another quote from another guy who played with Miles and Wynton on the legendary and seminal album Kind Of Blue, Cannonball Adderley. “He’s a fine soloist, who does both the subdued things and the swingers very well. Wynton is also the world’s greatest accompanist for a soloist. He even anticipates your direction”. For this fine set of covers and self- penned tunes Wynton is joined by Paul Chambers and Sam Jones on bass and Philly Joe Jones and Jimmy Cobb on drums (see track listing for finer details!)
All four albums have been digitally re-mastered.
CD1
1-8: ‘Piano Interpretations’
1. Cherokee
2. Crazy He Calls Me
3. Blue Moon
4. Born To Be Blue
5. Moonlight In Vermont
6. There Will Never Be Another You
7. I Found A New Baby
8. Goodbye
9-14: ‘Piano’
9. Whisper Not
10. Action
11. Dark Eyes
12. Strong Man
13. Ill Wind
14. Don’t Explain
15-16: ‘Kelly Blue’
15. Kelly Blue
16. Softly As In A Morning Sunrise
CD2
1-4: ‘Kelly Blue’
1. On Green Dolphin Street
2. Willow Weep For Me
3. Keep Moving
4. Old Clothes
5-14: ‘Someday My Prince Will Come’
5. Someday My Prince Will Come
6. Gone With The Wind
7. Autumn Leaves
8. Come Rain Or Come Shine
9. Weird Lullaby
10. Sassy
11. Temperance
12. On Stage
13. Char’s Blues
14. Love, I’ve Found You
