Kenny Drew Jr. (June 14, 1958 – August 3, 2014) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

pianist. His music is known for its hard-swinging bluesy sound and large, two-handed

rooty ''Rooty'' is the second studio album by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx, released on 25 June 2001 by the record labels XL and Astralwerks in the UK and US respectively. Like its predecessor '' Remedy'', ''Rooty'' was well-received c ...

chords contrasting with fast runs. The son of jazz pianist

Kenny Drew Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew (August 28, 1928 – August 4, 1993) was an American-Danish jazz pianist. Biography Drew was born in New York City, United States, and received piano lessons from the age of five.Feather, Leonard, & Ira Gitler ( ...

, he did not credit his father as an influence.Scott Yanow
Allmusic biography.
/ref> Tamarkin, Jeff (August 6, 2014)
"Pianist Kenny Drew Jr. Dies at 56"
''JazzTimes''.

Biography

His initial study was in classical music with his aunt and grandmother. In his teens he became interested in jazz and pop, but initially worked in funk bands. Later he went into jazz piano and in 1990 won The Great American Jazz Piano Competition in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

. Drew continued to perform jazz, but he also performed some chamber music. His style has some similarities to his father's, but is different enough to generally avoid comparison; he was considered the more eclectic of the two men. Drew attended

Iona College Iona University is a private Roman Catholic university with a main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and occupies a campus of in New Rochelle and a campus of in Bronxville, ...

New Rochelle New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state o ...

, New York, for a period during 1977 to 1978. There, he became pianist for the Iona College Singers, an entertainment troop promoting the college's name and goodwill among local high schools, retirement homes and the like in the Northeast region of the US. Drew cited

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

as an influence and like Monk often recorded (and performed) solo. Drew died at home in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

, on August 3, 2014.

Discography

As leader

Main source:

As sideman

* 1987:

Charnett Moffett Charnett Moffett (June 10, 1967 – April 11, 2022) was an American jazz bassist. Moffett began playing bass in the family band, touring the Far East in 1975 at the age of eight. In the mid-1980s, he played with Wynton Marsalis and Branford Ma ...

- ''The Net Man'' ( Blue Note Records) * 1987:

- ''Beauty Within'' ( Blue Note Records) * 1987:

- ''Beauty Within'' ( Blue Note Records) * 1993: Hal Melia - ''Waduyathink'' (Positive Music) * 1993:

Mingus Big Band The Mingus Big Band is a 14-piece ensemble, based in New York City, that specializes in the compositions of Charles Mingus. It was managed by his widow, Sue Mingus, along with the Mingus Orchestra and Mingus Dynasty. In addition to its weekly Monda ...

- ''Mingus Big Band 93: Nostalgia in Times Square'' (

Dreyfus Records Dreyfus Records (; french: Disques Dreyfus, link=no, ) is a record label which released the work of artists such as Jean-Michel Jarre who was part of the label for more than 20 years. Francis Dreyfus founded Disques Dreyfus in 1985. The label w ...

) * 1993: Carl Allen & Manhattan Projects - ''Echoes of our Heroes'' (

Evidence Music Evidence Music is an American jazz and blues record label founded in 1992 by Howard Rosen and Jerry Gordon. The label's name comes from the song "Evidence" by Thelonious Monk. The label's first releases were reissues of Sun Ra albums from the ...

) * 1994: Steve Slagle - ''Reincarnation'' ( Steeplechase) * 1995:

Stanley Turrentine Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note label from 1960, touched on jazz fusion ...

- ''

T Time ''T Time'' is an album by saxophonist Stanley Turrentine recorded in 1995 and released by the MusicMasters label.MusicMasters Records MusicMasters was a record label based in Ocean, New Jersey. History MusicMasters was founded in the late 1970s by Albert Nissim and his sons Robert and Jeffrey, who owned the Musical Heritage Society, which had previously only licensed Europea ...

) * 1995:

Michael Philip Mossman Michael Philip Mossman (born October 12, 1959) is an American jazz trumpeter. Career Mossman's early career included a tour of Europe with Anthony Braxton in 1978 and tours with Roscoe Mitchell in the early 1980s. He also did session work in the ...

- ''Spring Dance'' (Claves Jazz (Switzerland)) * 1995: John Tank - ''So In Love'' (TCB Records) * 1995:

Daniel Schnyder Daniel Schnyder (born March 12, 1961 in Zurich) is a Swiss jazz reedist and composer of both jazz and classical music. Schnyder learned to play cello before saxophone. He attended Berklee College of Music and the Conservatory of Winterthur. H ...

- ''Nucleus'' (

Enja Enja Records is a German jazz record company and label based in Munich which was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971. The label's first release was by Mal Waldron, and early releases included European and Ja ...

) * 1995:

Jack Walrath Jack Arthur Walrath (born May 5, 1946) is an American post-bop jazz trumpeter and musical arranger known for his work with Ray Charles, Gary Peacock, Charles Mingus, and Glenn Ferris, among others. Biography Walrath was born in Stuart, Florida. ...

- '' Journey, Man!'' (

) * 1995:

Ron McClure Ron McClure (born November 22, 1941) is an American jazz bassist. Early life McClure was born in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. He started on piano at age five, and later played accordion and bass. McClure studied privately with Joseph I ...

- ''Inner Account'' ( Steeplechase) * 1995:

- ''Gunslinging Bird'' (

) * 1996:

Nat Adderley Nathaniel Carlyle Adderley (November 25, 1931 – January 2, 2000) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was the younger brother of saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, whom he supported and played with for many years. Adderley's composition ...

Jeff Berlin Jeffrey Arthur Berlin (born January 17, 1953) is an American jazz fusion bassist. He first came to prominence in the 1970s as a member of the band Bruford led by drummer Bill Bruford. Musical career Berlin was born on January 17, 1953, in Quee ...

, and Kenny Drew Jr.: ''Monk in the Sun'' * 1996:

- ''Live in Time'' (

) * 1996:

Jack Wilkins Jack Rivers Lewis (born June 4, 1944), known professionally as Jack Wilkins, is a jazz guitarist. Career A native of New York City, Wilkins grew up listening to his parents' music, such as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Billie Holiday. He ...

-Kenny Drew Jr. Quartet - ''Keep in Touch'' (Claves Jazz) * 1996:

Ronnie Cuber Ronald Edward Cuber (December 25, 1941 – October 7, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. He also played in Latin, pop, rock, and blues sessions. In addition to his primary instrument, baritone sax, he played tenor sax, soprano sax, clarinet ...

- ''In a New York Minute'' ( Steeplechase) * 1997: George A. Johnson - '' Turqoise Connection'' (A Records / Challenge Records) * 1998: David "Bubba" Brooks - ''Smooth Sailing'' (TCB Records) * 1998: Warren Vaché - ''Plays Harry Warren: An Affair to Remember'' ( Zéphyr Records (Brussels)) * 1998:

- ''Spring Dance'' (TCB Records) * 2000:

- ''Words Within Music'' (

) * 2000: Paul F. Kendall/ Bob Leto - ''Excursions'' ( Brownstone Recordings) * 2000:

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) 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 ...

- ''Nucleus'' ( Storyville) * 2000:

- ''An Evening at Sea'' (

Chiaroscuro Records Chiaroscuro Records is a jazz record company and label founded by Hank O'Neal in 1970. The label's name comes from the Chiaroscuro, art term for the use of light and dark in a painting. O'Neal came up with the name via his friend and mentor Eddie ...

) * 2001: Paul F. Kendall/ Bob Leto - ''Red Top'' ( Brownstone Recordings) * 2001: Paquito D'Rivera - ''Excursions'' (

) * 2002: Cody Moffett - ''My Favorite Things'' (TCB Records) * 2002:

- ''Songbook'' (CCn'C) * 2002: Butch Miles - ''Straight On Till Morning'' (Nagel Heyer Records) * 2003:

/Kenny Drew Jr. Quartet - ''Da Skale'' (TCB Records) * 2004: Richard Drexler - ''Señor Juan Brahms '' (Nicolosi Productions) * 2003:

Martirio Maribel Quiñones or ''María Isabel Quiñones Gutiérrez'' in full, known under her stage name as Martirio (a Spanish given name meaning ''Martyrdom'' or ''Torment'', in English) is a Spanish singer born in 1954 in Huelva, Spain. She borrows he ...

- ''Primavera en Nueva York '' ( Sony BMG) * 2009:

Jeff Rupert Jeff Rupert (born September 6, 1964) is an American jazz saxophonist and professor at the University of Central Florida. Career Rupert received his master's degree in Jazz Studies from Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University in 1993, ...

– '' From Memphis to Mobile'' (Random Act) * 2010:

- ''Worlds Beyond Faust'' (Col Legno) * 2017: Kevin Çelebi - ''Purge Corruption'' (Nikki & Heidi Records) (''posthumous release'')

References

External links

Verve Music Group discography of Kenny Drew, Jr.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drew, Kenny Jr. 1958 births 2014 deaths American jazz pianists American male pianists Musicians from New York City Verve Records artists Milestone Records artists Antilles Records artists 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Mingus Big Band members