* En anglais uniquement
One of the great swing transitional pianists of the 1940s (along with
Nat King Cole),
Ken Kersey never became too famous but he was very highly rated by his fellow musicians.
Kersey learned music from his parents (his mother played piano and his father was a cellist) and studied both piano and trumpet at the Detroit Institute of Musical Arts.
Kersey moved to New York in 1936 and was soon busy, playing with
Lucky Millinder, Billy Hicks,
Frankie Newton,
Billie Holiday,
Roy Eldridge,
Red Allen (1941),
Cootie Williams,
Andy Kirk (where in 1942 he was
Mary Lou Williams' replacement) and many others; his "Boogie Woogie Cocktail" was recorded by
Kirk. He served in the military during 1943-1945 (sometimes playing trumpet in Army bands) and then gained some renown for his fine playing with the
Jazz at the Philharmonic touring shows (1946-1949).
Kersey remained in demand for mainstream groups, working with
Eldridge,
Buck Clayton,
Edmond Hall, Sol Yaged,
Charlie Shavers, and
Red Allen. Unfortunately, the talented pianist was forced to retire from music in the late '50s due to a bone ailment.
Ken Kersey recorded just a dozen titles as a leader, four for Savoy (1946), two for Clef (1949), a pair for Circle (1950) and a four-song date for Foxy (1951) that included
Hot Lips Page and
Paul Quinichette. ~ Scott Yanow