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Description:
Kenny Drew was an underrated master of bebop. A brilliant pianist
who started with the example of Bud Powell and then developed
his own sound within the style, in the '50s Drew worked with the
likes of Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Buddy
DeFranco, Dinah Washington and Art Blakey. By 1960 when he recorded
Undercurrent, Drew had already led ten albums of his own, mostly
with duos and trios. Oddly enough he only had the opportunity
to lead two albums in his life for Blue Note, an early effort
from 1953 and the classic Undercurrent. Matched in a quintet with
the young firebrand trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and the always-stimulating
tenor-saxophonist Hank Mobley, the 32-year old pianist was ready
to truly make his mark. All six compositions are his, and in his
accompaniment of the passionate horn men and in his soulful solos,
Drew shows that he was one of the major hard bop stylists. He
would not make another album as a leader until 1973, nine years
after he permanently moved to Europe, but Kenny Drew’s playing
on Undercurrent, a superb and very well-recorded Blue Note album
that is arguably his finest work, is timeless.