eMusic Review 0
Unless they sought to carve out careers as soloists, piano players were often thought of as just part of the rhythm section. Wynton Kelly managed to find himself between the two stools during his short career. Probably best-known as an integral part of Miles Davis 'first great band, with which he served from 1959 to 1963, he was also a subtle and inventive soloist, recording a number of albums for Blue Note, and this one for Vee-Jay. This expanded version of the original finds him in a trio with bassist Sam Jones and drummer Jimmy Cobb on some tracks and his Davis teammates bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones on others. There's an eight-minute track, "Wrinkles," with Lee Morgan's trumpet and Wayne Shorter's tenor enlivening things, but it's when the piano is up front that this album really takes off, with Kelly challenging himself from chorus to chorus, and producing engaging takes on every track.
