Artist: Wynton Kelly

Wynton Kelly was an American jazz pianist and composer. He is known for his lively, blues-based playing and as one of the finest accompanists in jazz.

Kelly started his professional career in 1943, initially as a member of R&B groups.  Through this, he improved his playing – the bands' "music had to be accessible, entertaining and easy to dance to," which influenced his later playing. 

At age15, Kelly toured the Caribbean as part of Ray Abrams' R&B band. Kelly made his recording debut aged 16, playing on saxophonist Hal Singer's 1948 "Cornbread",  which became a Billboard R&B chart-topping hit.

Kelly was also part of Charles Mingus' group for a tour of Washington, D.C., California, and Vancouver in late 1956 to early 1957. He left Mingus to rejoin Gillespie, who led a big band that toured Canada and the southern United States. Commenting on Kelly's ability to move from a small group to a big band setting, saxophonist Benny Golson.

In 1956, Kelly recorded with vocalist Billie Holiday, including for the original version of her song "Lady Sings the Blues", as well as for the Blue Note debuts of saxophonists  Johnny Griffin and Sonny Rollins. After leaving Gillespie again, Kelly formed his own trio. 

Kelly was much in demand as a sideman for recordings and appeared on albums by most of the major jazz leaders in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In April 1957, for instance, he appeared as a guest in an enlarged version of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, for an album later released as Theory of Art; this band included trumpeter Lee Morgan, with whom Kelly had recorded a few weeks earlier. The recording sessions continued four days later, with Kelly joining Blakey, Morgan and others on Griffin's A Blowin' Session; this was followed by three studio days for Gillespie, and another for trumpeter Clark Terry, before the end of the month. 

In 959, Kelly joined the musician with whom he became most associated – Miles Davis. Kelly stayed with Davis until March 1963, appearing on the studio albums Kind of Blue and Someday My Prince Will Come, as well as on numerous concert recordings. On Kind of Blue (1959), often mentioned as the best-selling jazz album ever, Kelly played on the track "Freddie Freeloader".