Wynton Kelly - Nine Classic Albums 1951-1961 [4CD Box Set] (2015)

EIGHT COMPLE ALBUMS FROM LEGENDARY JAZZ PIANIST WYNTON KELLY S FIRST DECADE Jazz pianist and composer Wynton Charles Kelly, famed for his crisp, leaping rhythmic blues playing style, and expert sight reading abilities, was known also as being one of the finest accompanists in the business. Drummer Philly Joe Jones was one of many musicians to sing his praises, stating that Kelly puts down flowers behind a soloist. He never wanted to steal in. He just puts together the right things. Miles Davis called Kelly the light for a cigarette. He lights the fire and he keeps it going, whilst Cannonball Adderley dubbed him the world s greatest accompanist for a soloist. This four CD collection, presented in a digitally remastered format, contains undoubtedly the finest recordings of a criminally underrated musician. His trademark style, unique among the more aggressive playing of his bop contemporaries, had a monumental influence on those who were to become future jazz piano legends, including Chick Corea, Monty Alexander and Chucho Valdés. Tragically losing his life before he had the chance to develop himself as a solo force, he still single-handedly managed to change what it meant to be a sideman, expertly holding together the bands of every leader he worked with. This compilation, featuring almost five hours of music in total, is a fitting testament to one of the unsung heroes of jazz and will hopefully assist in keeping Wynton Kelly s name alive and to reach new generations of fans for years to come.
About the Artist

Kelly began playing the piano at the age of four, although he would receive little formal music training on the instrument during his youth. Even though he attended The High School of Music & Art, as well as the Metropolitan Vocational High School, Kelly himself claimed they wouldn t give us a piano, so I fooled around with the bass and studied theory. He began his professional career in 1943, playing in numerous R&B groups whose upbeat and danceable nature had a profound effect on his style. During this time he played with several musicians who would later go on to make a name for themselves in jazz, including tenor saxophonist Ray Abrams, with whom Kelly toured the Caribbean at age 15. Wynton Kelly hit the ground running with his recording debut, scoring a Billboard R&B chart number one hit performing on Hal Singer s Cornbread. Other musicians he played with during this period included Babs Gonzales, Hot Lips Page, Eddie Cleanhead Vinson and Eddie Lockjaw Davis. In 1951, Kelly recorded his debut album under his own name, Piano Interpretations, and went on to raise his profile by joining vocalist Dinah Washington s band, appearing on several LPs with the group throughout the 1950s. He would play alongside Lester Young and Dizzy Gillespie throughout 1952, but his momentum faltered when he was drafted into the army in September of that year. However, Kelly continued to perform during his tour of duty, working with fellow draftee and jazz pianist Duke Pearson to convince their unit to include more black musicians in the Third Army Travelling Show - at the time Kelly and Pearson were the only two African Americans out of two dozen performers. By 1954 Kelly was the musical director for the show, had received the status of Private First Class and had ended his service with a performance before a crowd of 10,000 at Chastain Memorial Park Amphitheatre in Atlanta, Georgia. Kelly performed with a vast array of jazz greats over the next few years, including Charles Mingus, Benny Golson, Art Blakey and Lee Morgan, as well as repeated spells with the bands of Washington and Gillespie, and even playing bass on a track from vocalist Abbey Lincoln s That s Him!, after regular bassist Paul Chambers reportedly fell asleep in the studio following an extended drinking session. He recorded his second album as leader, Piano, in 1958, as well as recording with Cannonball Adderley, Hank Mobley and Pepper Adams. In January 1959, Kelly joined the band of Miles Davis, famously getting the gig after sitting in when previous pianist Red Garland was late for a club date. His work with Davis would eventually go on to be his best known, and included his exceptional performance on the song Freddy Freeloader on Kind Of Blue, the best-selling jazz record of all time. Davis infrequent schedules however left Kelly time to work on numerous other projects during this period, including a trio of highly-regarded albums for V-Jay Records: Kelly Great, Kelly At Midnight and Wynton Kelly!; he would also record with John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley during this time. After leaving Miles Davis band in 1963, Kelly formed his own trio with Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb, who had also left the group. The Wynton Kelly Trio would tour and record extensively, and achieved a minor hit single with Little Tracy in 1964, reaching number 38 on the Billboard R&B chart. Kelly s fortunes took a sharp decline towards the end of the decade when the trio split following Paul Chambers death in 1969 from tuberculosis, after years of alcohol and heroin abuse. Despite performing with Ray Nance and Dexter Gordon, Kelly would struggle to find work thereafter. Having suffered from epilepsy his entire life, Wynton Kelly died on 12th April 1971 after suffering a seizure in his hotel room in Toronto, at the age of 39.