Requisites
The Kenny Drew Trio steps into the spotlight for this morning’s discussion with their 1980 album, Ruby My Dear (SteepleChase Records SCS 1129). This was Kenny’s fourth release on the Danish label using a trio format, the first three are Dark Beauty (1974), If You Could See Me Now (1975), and Morning (1976). Here, Drew’s working with David Friesen on bass and Clifford Jarvis on drums. My copy used in this report is the US Stereo album sharing the Danish catalog number.
Kenny began playing the piano at age five, and later attended the High School of Music & Art. His first recording was with Howard McGhee. He’s also worked with John Coltrane, Buddy DeFranco, Johnny Griffin, Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Parker, Buddy Rich, Dinah Washington, and Lester Young among others. Drew also led his own groups throughout the fifties and has an extensive discography as a leader and sideman. Bassment, an uptempo original by Kenny launches Side One with an exciting introduction into a spirited melody. The leader’s opening solo sizzles right from the start, then David ends with an effective climax into the threesome’s closing chorus.
Thelonious Monk composed some of the most evocative standards in jazz and Ruby My Dear is one of his most beautiful songs. It’s named for Monk’s first love, Rubie Richardson, and was originally released in 1947, then later reissued on Genius of Modern Music, Volume 1 (1952). The trio starts the melody speaking elegantly, then Drew provides a solo of serene beauty into an intimate coda. Gentle Rain possesses a Bossa Nova flavor as originally intended by its creator, Luis Bonfá who wrote it with Matt Dubey. It premiered in The Gentle Rain that Bonfá scored with Eumir Deodato a year later. The group’s theme is sweet and lovely. Kenny swings softly on the only reading with an enchanting reading.
Side Two starts with Kenny’s Ending. This very pretty ballad opens with a short introduction by the trio preceding an elegant melody. Drew cultivates a very beautiful tone into a memorable interpretation. Friesen delivers the closing performance with easy assurance, ending with a tranquil finale. Sunspots by Austin Wells gets underway with a very pretty introduction of gentle cascades on the piano, gradually growing to a lively frolic on the opening chorus. Kenny starts the solos with a lengthy interpretation that’s a work of art. David steps in next for a rousing statement of effortless artistry. Clifford has an invigorating exchange with the leader and bassist on a breathtaking finale ahead of a soft climax.
Ruby My Dear was produced by SteepleChase Records’ Founder Nils Winther and the man behind the dials is Freddy Hansson. Both men put their talents to great use because the sound quality is astonishing with superb fidelity, placing the trio in your listening room to fill your ears with excellent music. If you’re seeking some outstanding bop for your library, I enthusiastically offer for your consideration, Ruby My Dear by The Kenny Drew Trio. It’s a perfect introduction to Drew’s music for newcomers, and an exceptional companion to his other three albums as well!
~ Dark Beauty (SteepleChase SCS-1016), Genius of Modern Music, Volume 1 (Blue Note BLP 5002), If You Could See Me Now (SteepleChase SCS-1034), Morning (SteepleChase SCS-1048), Ruby My Dear (Blue Note 549) – Source: Discogs.com ~ Kenny Drew, Ruby My Dear – Source: Wikipedia.org © 2021 by Edward Thomas Carter
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Eddy Louiss was born on May 2, 1941 in Paris, France. Playing in his father Pierre’s orchestra in the 1950s, his primary instrument became the Hammond organ. The original family name was Louise, which he changed to the current spelling. As a vocalist, he was a member of Les Double Six of Paris from 1961 through 1963.
For 13 years, between 1964 and 1977, Eddy played with leading French musician Claude Nougaro. Leaving Nougard, he ventured out on a solo career. He went on to work with Kenny Clarke, René Thomas, and Jean-Luc Ponty. In 1971 he was a member of the Stan Getz quartet with René Thomas and Bernard Lubat. The quartet recorded the 1971 Getz album Dynasty.
After suffering artery problems, Louiss had his left leg amputated in the early 1990s, following which he made few public appearances.
In duet, he recorded with pianist Michel Petrucciani in 1994, and accordionist Richard Galliano in 2002. His later recordings, such as Sentimental Feeling and Récit proche, combined jazz with rock and world music.
Hammond organist and vocalist Eddy Louiss, who was awarded the Prix Django Reinhardt in 1964, passed away on June 30, 2015 in Poitiers, France.
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Floyd “Candy” Johnson was born on May 1, 1922 in Madison, Illinois and started on drums before moving to saxophone, with Ben Webster being his biggest influence. His professional career began in St. Louis, Missouri where he was a member of a group led by Chuck Finney. He attended Wilberforce University until the draft intervened but after his service, he played in bands led by Ernie Fields, Tiny Bradshaw, and Andy Kirk. With the Kirk orchestra he recorded for Decca Records.
Johnson preferred candy to alcohol, so a band member started calling him Candy, and the moniker stuck. In Detroit he started a band called the Peppermint Sticks. One musician recalled that the band dressed in candy-striped suits, and sometimes Johnson tossed peppermint sticks to the crowd.
1951 saw him as a member of the Count Basie Orchestra, recording with Basie for Clef Records before working in more of a rhythm and blues vein with Bill Doggett. The band had hits with Blip Blop, Honky Tonk, and Night Train. Leaving Doggett in the 1960s he went on to study music at Bowling Green State University.
By 1974, Candy was playing with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, the Count Basie Orchestra, and his friend Clark Terry. During a visit to New York City, he recorded with Helen Humes and Roy Eldridge. A year later, he accompanied the New McKinney’s Cotton Pickers at the Bix Beiderbecke Festival in Iowa.
Saxophonist Candy Johnson, who retired from performing, moved to Toledo, Ohio and taught at local schools, passed away on June 28, 1981 in Framingham, Massachusetts.
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Richard Henryk Twardzik was born on April 30, 1931 in Danvers, Massachusetts and trained in classical piano as a child. He was taught by Margaret Chaloff, the mother of baritone saxophone player Serge Chaloff.
He made his professional debut at the age of fourteen. During his teen years Dick became addicted to heroin, which would eventually be his downfall later in life. Twardzik recorded with Serge Chaloff and Charlie Mariano. He worked with Charlie Parker on several occasions toward the end of Parker’s life. He also played professionally with Lionel Hampton and Chet Baker, recording with the latter and Chaloff in 1954 and 1955.
Pianist Dick Twardzik, who worked in Boston for most of his career, passed away of a heroin overdose while on a European tour with Chet Baker on October 21, 1955 in Paris, France.
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Raymond Fol was born in Paris, France on April 28, 1928 and along with his brother Hubert was raised in a musical household. He began playing piano at five years of age, and both he and his brother played in Claude Abadie’s ensemble after the end of World War II.
The Fol brothers then formed their own group, the Be Bop Minstrels, however, Raymond worked around this time with musicians such as Pierre Braslavsky, Jean-Claude Fohrenbach, Django Reinhardt, Roy Eldridge, and Johnny Hodges. In 1952, he did a European tour in Dizzy Gillespie’s band, and for several years in the middle of the decade was a regular at Paris’s Club Saint-Germain. He also worked in the 1950s with Sidney Bechet, Claude Luter, Guy Lafitte, and Stephane Grappelli.
He worked briefly in Rome, Italy in 1958, then returned to Paris, playing both piano and celesta at the Club Saint-Germain. In the 1960s and 1970s he worked with Kenny Clarke, Duke Ellington, Paul Gonsalves, Cat Anderson, and Gerard Badini. Raymond also recorded a few times on solo piano in the first half of the 1970s.
Pianist Raymond Fol passed away in the City of Lights on May 1, 1979.
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