Wynton Kelly (December 2, 1931 in Jamaica — April 12, 1971, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) was a jazz pianist who spent his career in the United States of America. Events 1409 - The University of Leipzig opens 1755 - The second Eddystone Lighthouse is destroyed by fire Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Jamaica (ˈdʒəˈmeɪkə} is an Island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
He is perhaps best known for working with trumpeter Miles Davis in the '50s. Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26 1926 &ndash September 28 1991 was an American Jazz Trumpeter, Bandleader, and Composer.
Biography
Kelly started his professional career as a teenager, initially as a member of R&B groups. After working with Lee Abrams, Cecil Payne, Dinah Washington and Dizzy Gillespie[1], he was a member of Miles Davis's Quintet from 1959 to 1963. Cecil Payne ( December 14, 1922 &ndash November 27, 2007) was a Jazz Baritone saxophonist born in Brooklyn NY Dinah Washington ( August 29, 1924 &ndash December 14, 1963) was a Blues, R&B and Jazz singer John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( October 21 1917 &ndash January 6 1993) was an American Jazz Trumpeter Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26 1926 &ndash September 28 1991 was an American Jazz Trumpeter, Bandleader, and Composer. The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He appears on Davis's seminal 1959 album Kind of Blue, replacing Bill Evans on the track "Freddie Freeloader" (with Davis asking Kelly to sound more like Ahmad Jamal). Kind of Blue is an album by American Jazz musician Miles Davis, released August 17 1959 on Columbia Records, in both William John Evans (better known as Bill Evans) ( August 16, 1929 &ndash September 15, 1980) was one of the most famous and influential " Freddie Freeloader " is a composition by Miles Davis and is the second track on his seminal album Kind of Blue. Ahmad Jamal, born July 2, 1930, is a noted American Jazz Pianist. He likewise appears on a single track from John Coltrane's Giant Steps, replacing Tommy Flanagan on "Naima". Giant Steps is a 1960 Album by Jazz musician John Coltrane, released on Atlantic Records. Thomas Lee Flanagan ( 16 March, 1930 &ndash 16 November, 2001) was an American Jazz Pianist born in Detroit Naima is a Ballad composed by John Coltrane in 1959 and named after his then-wife Juanita Naima Grubb.
Miles Davis described Kelly as a "hybrid" of Red Garland and Bill Evans. William "Red" Garland ( May 13, 1923 &ndash April 23, 1984) was an American Hard bop Jazz Pianist This is a very accurate description of Kelly by his former bandleader, as Kelly played with an underlying driving rhythm (à la Red Garland), and yet played with a fair amount of understatement, in the tradition of Bill Evans. William John Evans (better known as Bill Evans) ( August 16, 1929 &ndash September 15, 1980) was one of the most famous and influential
Most jazz pianists consider Wynton Kelly to be the most swinging jazz pianist ever. Swing music, also known as swing jazz, is a form of Jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and had solidified as a distinctive style by 1935 in the United An analysis of his eighth notes reveals that he widely varied his swing ratios. Sometimes he had a tendency to play eighth notes closer to straight-eighth notes, rather than the more traditional swing-eighth notes, and also to play more "on top of" the beat and less "laid back" than was the custom of earlier pianists. Kelly also tended to play his more even eighth-note lines with a fairly staccato touch. In Musical notation, the Italian word staccato (literally detached, plural staccatos or staccati) indicates that notes This stylistic trait lead the way for pianists such as McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock, who adopted and expanded on this concept for a more "modern" sound. Alfred McCoy Tyner (born 11 December 1938) is a jazz pianist from Philadelphia Pennsylvania, known for his work with the John Coltrane Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (born June 12, 1941) is a multiple Grammy Award winning American Jazz Pianist Herbert Jeffrey Hancock ("Herbie" born April 12 1940 is a Jazz Pianist and Composer.
A superb accompanist, Wynton Kelly was also a distinctive soloist. He recorded 14 titles for Blue Note in a trio (1951), and worked with Dinah Washington, Dizzy Gillespie, and Lester Young during 1951-1952. After serving in the military, he worked with Dinah Washington (1955-1957), Charles Mingus (1956-1957), and the Dizzy Gillespie big band (1957), but he would be most famous for his stint with Miles Davis (1959-1963), recording such albums with Miles as Kind of Blue, At the Blackhawk, and Someday My Prince Will Come. When he left Davis, Kelly took the rest of the rhythm section (bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb) with him to form his trio. Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers Jr ( April 22 1935 – January 4 1969) was one of the most influential Jazz bassists of the Jimmy Cobb (born January 20 1929 in Washington DC) is an American jazz drummer. The group actually sounded at its best backing Wes Montgomery. John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery ( 6 March 1925 - 15 June 1968) was an American Jazz guitarist He is generally considered
Before his early death, Kelly recorded as a leader for Blue Note, Riverside Records, Vee-Jay, Verve, and Milestone. Riverside Records a United States Record label specializing in Jazz, was the raison d'etre for Bill Grauer Productions Vee-Jay Records was a Record label founded in the 1950s specializing in Blues, Jazz, Rhythm and blues and Rock and roll. Verve Records is an American Jazz Record label now owned by the Universal Music Group. Milestone Records is a United States based Jazz Record label, founded in 1966 by Orrin Keepnews and Dick Katz in New Kelly had a daughter, Tracy, in 1963, with partner Anne. The track, "Little Tracy", from the LP Coming In the Back Door, is named after Kelly's daughter. Tracy Matisak is a now a Philadelphia television personality. Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə
Kelly's second cousin, bassist Marcus Miller, also performed with Miles Davis in the eighties and nineties. Marcus Miller (born June 14, 1959 in Brooklyn, New York) is a Grammy Award-winning Jazz musician composer producer and multi-instrumentalist
Select discography
- Blues On Purpose (1965; Xanadu Records)
References
Xanadu Records was a Jazz music Record label specializing in Bebop throughout the 1970s and 1980s founded by Don Schlitten, recording and issuingDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic