One of the two great stride pianists (along with
Ralph Sutton) to emerge during the 1940s when members of their generation were generally playing bebop,
Wellstood kept an open mind toward later styles (he loved
Monk) while sounding at his best playing classic jazz. A little more subtle than
Sutton,
Wellstood was also a powerful pianist who was a superb interpreter of the music of
James P. Johnson and his contemporaries. He came to New York with
Bob Wilber's Wildcats in 1946 and caught on in the trad jazz scene quickly. By 1947 he was playing with
Sidney Bechet, and in the 1950s he mostly worked with veteran players including trumpeters
Roy Eldridge,
Rex Stewart, and
Charlie Shavers and the
Eddie Condon gang. He was in the intermission band at Condon's starting in 1956 and later was house pianist at the Metropole and Nick's. After a period with
Gene Krupa's quartet, he toured with
the World's Greatest Jazz Band.
Wellstood remained active throughout his all-too-short life, playing solo concerts, performing at jazz parties, and recording quite a few memorable albums. ~ Scott Yanow