Search - Wynton Kelly :: Kelly Blue

Wynton Kelly was a relatively new member of the Miles Davis band when he made this 1959 session, but he had already formed a strong musical partnership with bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb. The trio would stay together long after their departure from the Davis band and a further tenure with Wes Montgomery. Kelly was an original stylist, who had a lyrical and economical approach and a way of insinuating the blues into everything he touched. You can feel it here in the moving "Willow Weep for Me" and the bright takes on "Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise" and "On Green Dolphin Street," just getting established as standards in the jazz repertoire and getting distinctive treatments here. His light, flowing lines are well matched by Cobb's spare accents and Chambers's own melodic bass. Benny Golson on tenor, Bobby Jasper on flute, and Nat Adderley on cornet join in to make up a powerful sextet on the extended title tune and two takes of another Kelly original, "Keep It Moving." It's apparent how much Kelly's comping could add to a soloist's work. --Stuart Broomer