Jump to content

Kenny Drew Jr.


HolgerFreimutSchrick

Recommended Posts

Sorry to hear this, I remember how cool I thought it was that Kenny Drew had a son following in his footsteps. I learned pretty fast that I'd always prefer senior to junior but 56 is way too young.

I did like his playing a lot on David "Bubba" Brooks' Smooth Sailing (TCB).

Edited by Dan Gould
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, this is really sad. I was lucky enough to catch him playing with Stanley Turrentine at Jazz Alley in Seattle back in the 90s, talked to him after the show and he was a very friendly and gracious guy.

R.I.P.

That is interesting, Shawn. I remember seeing Stanley T. back then at Jazz Alley but never heard who was in the band so I might have seen him. What a great evening that was. Must have been around 1994/95.

Very sorry to hear this news - I think I also saw Kenny Drew Jr. as part of the Mingus Big band here in the UK some years ago. He was very, very good. Truly a tragedy - RIP.

Edited by sidewinder
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's been confirmed by Scott Elias of Random Act Records.

Fellow pianist George Colligan has written this very insightful blog in his memory.

F

Both of those are far from any sort of confirmation.

That said Mr. Drew was reportedly physically ill and also depressed; a combination which probably adds to the news trickling out in this manor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's been confirmed by Scott Elias of Random Act Records.

Fellow pianist George Colligan has written this very insightful blog in his memory.

F

Both of those are far from any sort of confirmation.

FWIW Scott Elias of Random Act was a good friend of Drew. Another friend and fellow pianist, Tom Becker, has also reported his passing.

F

Edited by Fer Urbina
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I saw Kenny play just last week --a week ago Saturday. His playing was on fire and he was outstanding! If he was sick, he didn't show it that night. I was very fortunate to be able to catch him playing a lot around the Tampa Bay area here. He will be very sorely missed. A giant walked among us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I saw Kenny play just last week --a week ago Saturday. His playing was on fire and he was outstanding! If he was sick, he didn't show it that night. I was very fortunate to be able to catch him playing a lot around the Tampa Bay area here. He will be very sorely missed. A giant walked among us.

I realize that jazz is pretty much under-appreciated across the board, but what is your sense of how the Tampa Bay region did or did not recognize that an artist of this calibre was their neighbor?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the Tampa Bay area really embraced Kenny and I think he was appreciated here for the world class musician that he was. I think most knew we were very lucky to have him here. I didn't really know him but maybe that's why he stayed here because he felt that appreciation. However, IMHO, he really belonged much more on the world stage because he was such a great player. Again IMHO, with the state of today's under-appreciation of jazz, he never gained that higher level of appreciation as he should have.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, this is really sad. I was lucky enough to catch him playing with Stanley Turrentine at Jazz Alley in Seattle back in the 90s, talked to him after the show and he was a very friendly and gracious guy.

R.I.P.

That is interesting, Shawn. I remember seeing Stanley T. back then at Jazz Alley but never heard who was in the band so I might have seen him. What a great evening that was. Must have been around 1994/95.

Very sorry to hear this news - I think I also saw Kenny Drew Jr. as part of the Mingus Big band here in the UK some years ago. He was very, very good. Truly a tragedy - RIP.

It was later when I saw him, probably '99, I remember it being only about 6 months before Stanley passed away.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was later when I saw him, probably '99, I remember it being only about 6 months before Stanley passed away.

Thinking about it, I'm pretty sure that the lineup in 94/95 had electric piano so it would have been a different group. There's a recording with Stanley and Kenny in performance on tour near Inverness, Scotland though in 1999 during that period and it's pretty good.

Edited by sidewinder
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...