Swing and Drive in a Trio Setting
Kelly's distinctive drive and buoyant swing feel made this a genuinely important recording for Riverside.
Piano, also released as Whisper Not, finds Wynton Kelly leading a tight trio with Kenny Burrell on guitar, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. What matters here is the chemistry between these four players and the clarity of what Kelly brings to the date. He's not trying to expand the piano trio into something it isn't — he's just playing with real conviction, and the other musicians meet him there.
Kelly had been working steadily as a sideman and session player for years by this point, and Piano shows why bandleaders and producers kept calling him. His touch at the keyboard has weight without heaviness. He doesn't rush; he lets the music breathe. Burrell's guitar work sits comfortably in the mix, never fighting for space. Chambers and Jones anchor everything with the kind of locked-in rhythm section work that makes a pianist's job easier. AllMusic gave the album four and a half stars and called it an important recording that displays Kelly's distinctive drive and buoyant swing feel, which is fair — there's no wasted motion here, just capable musicians doing their job well.
This is early in Kelly's recording career, before he became known primarily as a sideman to Miles Davis and others. It's worth hearing because it captures him as a leader, in command of his own session, playing music that swings without needing to prove anything. Not every album needs to change jazz history. Some are just solid, well-played dates that show you what a musician can do when the conditions are right.
Who's playing
Where next?
The musicians on this record
Introducing Kenny Burrell 1956
Kenny Burrell
plays guitar here
plays guitar here
Kenny Drew Trio 1957
Philly Joe Jones
plays drums (drum set) here
plays drums (drum set) here
