Undercurrent (Shm) (Jpn)

Kenny Drew was a brilliant pianist who worked with the likes of Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Buddy DeFranco, Dinah Washington and Art Blakey. By 1960 when he recorded "Undercurrent" for Blue Note, Drew had already recorded ten albums of his own, mostly with duos and trios. Oddly enough he only had the opportunity to only record 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 songs on this album 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. Kenny Drew's playing on "Undercurrent", a superb and very well-recorded Blue Note album that is arguably his finest work, is timeless. The definitive versions of Blue Note are on XRCD24 - the optimization of CD mastering and manufacturing. Plays on all standard CD players.