Record of the Day: Kenny Drew, “Undercurrent”

Kenny Drew
“Undercurrent” (Cd Blue Note 094637421628)

Blue Note has also republished one of the best titles in its catalogue, an album that in
previously it could have cost you a lot of money in Japanese imported copies.
Kenny Drew will always be remembered as the pianist featured in John Coltrane’s masterpiece “Blue Train”: despite this appearance his name has never entered the Empyrean of jazz popularity, yet he is one of the greatest exponents of hardbop pianism.

His style is inspired by various influences, of which the predominant one is undoubtedly that of Bud Powell, but in his approach to the keyboard there are echoes of the classical studies carried out as a child (especially in the clarity of the touch) and of the spirited boogie-woogie that Drew mastered before dedicating himself to the more modern currents of jazz. An excellent sideman (he played on dozens of sessions with Dinah Washington, Dexter Gordon, Charlie Parker, Howard McGhee, Art Blakey, Johnny Griffin, Milt Jackson and many others) Drew had one of his first solo opportunities with this magnificent “Undercurrent” of 1960, which also allowed him to demonstrate his ability as a songwriter thanks to effective themes such as “Funkosity” and “Groovin’ the Blues”.

At times the angular and percussive melodic phrases seem to pay homage to the funk pianism of Horace Silver, to which Drew skillfully mixes serpentine melodic phrases directly taken from the bebop tradition: during his colleagues’ solos Drew prefers light figurations alternating rapid chordal passages with liquid figurations in the high register, but Kenny is equally at ease with the dense harmonization of the song that closes the album, “Ballade” (also equipped with a very beautiful theme) where the soft flow of the rhythm is contrasted by a very mobile solo, from the capricious character.

On the occasion of this recording, Blue Note spared no expense, providing Drew with a stratospheric cast including a young but already sensational Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, whose urgent and forceful phrasing contrasts well with the swing-filled relaxation of the Hank Mobley’s saxophone, here in one of his best appearances on record; with a rhythm formed by Sam Jones on double bass and Louis Hayes on drums the result is guaranteed and once again the two manage to make sparks.

Carlo Boccadoro, composer and conductor, was born in Macerata in 1963. He lives and works in Milan. He collaborates with soloists and orchestras in different parts of the world. He is the author of numerous books on musical topics.

This text is taken from “Lunario della musica: A record for every day of the year” published by Einaudi, courtesy of the author and the publisher.