The State of Jazz Today by Kenny Drew Jr. R.I.P.

[Kenny Drew Jr.]

Advocate for Preserving America's Classical Music, "JAZZ",

it's African American Legacy, Roots and Heritage!

The Music of the 20th Century!

Main Page

KENNY DREW JR

A Member of the Washington DC Jazz Network

As a jazz musician myself I have to make a comment on this. I can't believe that there's no JVC festival this year.NY is one of the few places in the country where there are a lot of people who care about jazz. I live in St. Petersburg, FL which is pretty much a cultural wasteland. The handful of jazz gigs in this area still pay the same chump change ($75-$100) that they were paying when I moved here many years ago. I used to have a pretty good career but over the past few years it's taken a nosedive.I'm not getting called for the high paying gigs any more and the small local gigs have dried up too.Things have gotten so bad that I might have to give up my apartment soon and move in with a  relative who's in a bad financial situation too. I feel really bad about having to be a burden to her, but it's either her house or a homeless shelter.I'm also going to be filing for bankruptcy soon. It's starting to feel like my career has been a waste of time since the end result will be homelessness and bankruptcy. I would quit the music business in a heartbeat if I had any other skills that I could use to make money,but since my only talents are playing and writing music,I guess I'll just have to keep muddling through until things get better(fat chance!) or I die (whichever comes first). I've had no luck in finding a teaching gig anywhere either. On a positive note I've been writing a lot of new music.

Unfortunately I have nowhere to play it and no opportunities to record it. If anyone out there has any suggestions or would just like to give me a kind word, I'd appreciate it. It's getting really hard for me to have a positive attitude or see any silver lining in all of this.

Please visit my website at www.kennydrewjr.com.

Kenny Drew, Jr. (June 14, 1958 - August 3, 2014), son of jazz pianist Kenny Drew, is an American jazz pianist. His music is known for its hard-swinging bluesy sound and large, two-handed rooty chords contrasting with fast runs. He does not credit his father as an influence.^[1][2]

His initial study was in classical music with his mother and grandmother.^[3] In his teens he became interested in jazz and pop, but initially worked in funk bands. Later he went into jazz piano and in 1990 won the Great American Jazz Piano competition in Jacksonville, Florida. He has continued to perform jazz, but has also performed some chamber music. His style has some similarities to his father's, but is different enough to generally avoid comparison. He is considered the more eclectic of the two.

Drew attended Iona College in New Rochelle, NY for a spell from 1977 to 1978. There, he became pianist for the Iona College Singers, an entertainment troop promoting the College's name and goodwill among local high schools, retirement homes and the like in the Northeast region of the USA.

Widely recognized as a piano virtuoso, Kenny Drew Jr. would become known as not only one of the greatest pianists of a generation, but perhaps one of the greatest of all time. Drew cites Thelonius Monk as an influence and like Monk often preferred to record and perform solo.

Discography

• 1987 The Flame Within (Pony Canyon Records Japan)
• 1989 Third Phase (Pony Canyon Records Japan)
• 1992 Kenny Drew, Jr. (Antilles)
• 1992 Look Inside (Verve)
• 1994 Maybeck Recital Hall Series, Vol. 39 (Concord)
• 1994 Portraits of Mingus & Monk (Claves Jazz (Switzerland)
• 1998 Passionata (Arkadia Jazz)
• 1998 The Rainbow Connection (Evidence)
• 1998 Crystal River (TCB Records)
• 1998 Secrets (TCB Records)
• 1999 Winter Flower (Milestone Records)
• 1999 This One's for Bill (TCB Records)
• 2000 Follow the Spirit (Sirocco Jazz)
• 2001 Remembrance (TCB Records)
• 2001 Autumn (Pony Canyon Records Japan)
• 2001 Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival 99 (TCB Records)
• 2002 Another Point of View (Tokuma Records)
• 2009 "From Memphis to Mobile" guest artist with Jeff Rupert (Random Act)
• 2011 Duality (Random Act)
• 2012 Coral Sea (Random Act)