Kenny Drew was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger born in New York City in 1928. A fluent bebop and hard bop player, Drew came up through the New York scene in the late 1940s and 1950s, working as a sideman with Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey, and Dinah Washington. He recorded his first album as a leader for Blue Note in 1953 and went on to record notable sessions including Undercurrent for the label. In 1961, Drew relocated to Paris and then Copenhagen, where he spent the rest of his life. In Denmark he formed a lasting musical partnership with bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, recording prolifically as both leader and sideman for the SteepleChase label. Drew's compositional output includes pieces that reflect his command of bebop harmony and lyrical melodicism, among them Eastbound, featured on AllSolos. Later in his career he devoted increasing attention to composing, orchestrating, and music publishing. He died in Copenhagen in 1993 at the age of sixty-four, leaving behind a substantial recorded legacy as one of the finest pianists of his generation.
