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Wynton Kelly: Piano
By
Dinah Washington
vocals1924 - 1963

Lester Young
saxophone1909 - 1959

Dizzy Gillespie
trumpet1917 - 1993

Sonny Rollins
saxophoneb.1930

Lee Morgan
trumpet1938 - 1972
While simply entitled Piano, Kelly leads a quartet with guitarist

Kenny Burrell
guitar, electricb.1931

Paul Chambers
bass, acoustic1935 - 1969

Philly Joe Jones
drums1923 - 1985

Wes Montgomery
guitar1923 - 1968
Piano contains two Kelly originals. "Action" sounds and feels like the hinge between bebop and hard bop. It opens with an intricate head played by Kelly with Burrell doubling him. It is taken at a medium fast tempo over "I Got Rhythm" changes. Outstanding is Paul Chamber's precise, center-note walking, providing the quartet with atomic timekeeping. Chambers solos arco at impressive speed, expressing similarly impressive ideas. Jones puts the hard in bop with his snare bombs and cymbal crashes. The second original, "You Can't Get Away" is a brisk blues performed sans drums. Again, Chambers' importance cannot be overstated, his time is impeccable and swinging, allowing Kelly and Burrell plenty of space..
Two takes of the Russian folk song turned standard, "Dark Eyes" are performed, allowing Burrell to show-off a sweet bit of compchording. The album take is brisk and propulsive. The alternate take contains that little bit of magic one finds in jazz when the band is hitting the head and releasing into the first solo, where Chambers again, understated, but potently evident, guides the performance, spurring Kelly to a greater lyricism before pushing Burrell out into his solo. This is dramatic performance at its best. Chamber's solos on both takes are dead center.
"Whisper Not" features a slinky Burrell accompaniment while Oscar Brown, Jr.'s "Strong Man" is given the full cocktail treatment, again without Jones on drums. The performance is earthy and swinging, rubbing off on a rocking performance of "Ill Wind." Kelly is a year away from Kind of Blue (Columbia, 1959) and his explosive three years with

Miles Davis
trumpet1926 - 1991
Track Listing
Whisper Not; Action; Dark Eyes; Dark Eyes [take 2]; Strong Man; Ill Wind; Don’t Explain; You Can’t Get Away
Personnel
Wynton Kelly
pianoKenny Burrell
guitar, electricPaul Chambers
bass, acousticPhilly Joe Jones
drumsAlbum information
Title: Piano | Year Released: 1958 | Record Label: Riverside
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