Kenny Drew - Solo-Duo (2015)

The talented, if underrated bebop pianist Kenny Drew spent his last few decades living in Scandinavia after emigrating from the U.S. in 1961. This 1996 CD has previously unreleased material recorded by the Danish Broadcast Corporation featuring Drew at three different periods in time. There are four tunes apiece of Drew in duets with bassist Niels Pedersen in 1966, playing unaccompanied solos in 1978, and duets with bassist Bo Stief in 1983. All dozen numbers (seven jazz standards, a Scandinavian folk song, an obscurity and two Drew originals, including two versions of "Blues for Nils") are quite rewarding. The music is straight-ahead, often harmonically sophisticated, swinging and occasionally unpredictable. An excellent sampling of Kenny Drew's talents. -- Scott Yanow