| Kelly Blue | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1959 | |||
| Recorded | February 19 and March 10, 1959 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 43:21 | |||
| Label | Riverside | |||
| Producer | Orrin Keepnews | |||
| Wynton Kelly chronology | ||||
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Kelly Blue is an album by American jazz pianist Wynton Kelly, released in 1959.
Coming off of his success as a sideman with Miles Davis's sextet, Riverside Records gave Kelly an opportunity to expand on his solo career. Kelly Blue was his second LP for the label.
The songs feature Kelly and bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb. Together they had formed the rhythm section for the Miles Davis bands. Guests include Nat Adderley, Bobby Jaspar and Benny Golson.
Producer and jazz critic Orrin Keepnews described the album as "a repertoire ideally suited to the blues concept on which the album is based". [1]
Originally released by Riverside, the album has been reissued on CD several times since 1989 by Riverside and OJC. One is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players. The one from 1989 is a straight mono remaster. 2009 saw a mono vinyl re-issue.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz | [3] |
| The Pittsburgh Courier | [4] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide |  [5] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [6] |
In his AllMusic review, music critic Scott Yanow wrote "Kelly was renowned as an accompanist, but as he shows on a set including three of his originals and four familiar standards (including "Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise" and "Willow Weep for Me"), he was also a strong bop-based soloist too. A fine example of his talents." [2]
Remastered versions of the album include a bonus track: "Do Nothing till You Hear from Me", as well as an alternate take of "Keep It Moving".
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for his unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and for his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a distinctive sound.
John Arnold Griffin III was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of his death. A pioneering figure in hard bop, Griffin recorded prolifically as a bandleader in addition to stints with pianist Thelonious Monk, drummer Art Blakey, in partnership with fellow tenor Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and as a member of the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band after he moved to Europe in the 1960s. In 1995, Griffin was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music.
Wilbur James "Jimmy" Cobb was an American jazz drummer. He was part of Miles Davis's First Great Sextet. At the time of his death, he had been the Sextet's last surviving member for nearly thirty years. He was awarded an NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship in 2009.
Wynton Charles Kelly was an American jazz pianist and composer. He is known for his lively, blues-based playing and as one of the finest accompanists in jazz. He began playing professionally at the age of 12 and was pianist on a No. 1 R&B hit at the age of 16. His recording debut as a leader occurred three years later, around the time he started to become better known as an accompanist to singer Dinah Washington, and as a member of trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie's band. This progress was interrupted by two years in the United States Army, after which Kelly worked again with Washington and Gillespie, and played with other leaders. Over the next few years, these included instrumentalists Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Hank Mobley, Wes Montgomery, and Sonny Rollins, and vocalists Betty Carter, Billie Holiday, and Abbey Lincoln.
Bags Meets Wes! is an album by Milt Jackson and Wes Montgomery, released in 1962 by Riverside. It was reissued in 1999 by the Original Jazz Classics label, with additional takes, and again in 2006.
The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco is a 1959 album by The Cannonball Adderley Quintet.
A Tribute to Cannonball is a studio album by jazz pianist Bud Powell and tenor saxophonist Don Byas, released on Columbia in March 1979, featuring a session recorded at the Studio Charlot in Paris on 15 December 1961, with Pierre Michelot on bass and Kenny Clarke on drums, and trumpeter Idrees Sulieman guesting on four tracks. The session was produced by Cannonball Adderley, who would also produce Powell's follow-up A Portrait of Thelonious recorded two days later.
Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago is an album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, his final release on the Mercury label, featuring performances by Adderley with John Coltrane, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb.
Cannonball Takes Charge is an album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley released on the Riverside label featuring performances by Adderley with Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb with Percy and Albert Heath replacing Chambers and Cobb on two selections.
Plus is an album by Cannonball Adderley Quintet released on the Riverside label featuring performances by Adderley with Nat Adderley, Wynton Kelly, Victor Feldman, Sam Jones and Louis Hayes.
African Waltz is an album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, released on the Riverside label and performed by Adderley with an orchestra conducted by Ernie Wilkins. The title track had been a UK hit single for Johnny Dankworth.
The Complete Riverside Recordings is a box set of American jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery's early recordings on the Riverside label. It is a twelve-CD box set and was released in 1992. It contains 157 songs and includes 15 previously unissued performances, six re-edited versions of previously issued numbers and 29 alternate takes. The extensive liner notes by producer Orrin Keepnews and Jim Ferguson, session notes, and photographs. Keepnews and Ferguson received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Album Notes.
Out of the Blue is an album by American jazz saxophonist Sonny Red recorded on December 5, 1959 and January 23, 1960 and released on Blue Note in 1960.
Big 6 is the debut album by American trumpeter Blue Mitchell recorded in 1958 and released on the Riverside label. It contains the first recording of Benny Golson's jazz standard "Blues March".
Out of the Blue is an album led by American trumpeter Blue Mitchell recorded and released in 1959 on the Riverside label.
Turning Point is an album by saxophonist Benny Golson, featuring performances recorded in late 1962 and originally released on the Mercury label.
Last Chorus is a posthumous album by American jazz saxophonist Ernie Henry featuring tracks recorded in 1956 and 1957 for the Riverside label.
It's Magic is the third album by American jazz vocalist Abbey Lincoln featuring tracks recorded in 1958 for the Riverside label.
The Chant is the second album by bassist and cellist Sam Jones featuring performances recorded in early 1961 and originally released on the Riverside label.
Drums Around the World is the second album led by American jazz drummer Philly Joe Jones. It was recorded in 1959 and released on the Riverside label.
