Kenny Burrell - Blue Muse

[Big Al]

An e-mail from Borders announced pre-orders for this. Anyone have any info on it, like a personnel list or something? The Borders "review" indicated it was similar to Midnight Blue. I wonder if that means he's goin' piano-less again? I can only hope!

[Jim R]

HEY! I thought we agreed that I would announce the latest Kenny Burrell releases. ( ) At least you didn't attempt any of your bad puns. (Can you tell yet that Al and I are old buddies? No? Well, Al and I are old buddies).

Okay, okay, some facts (if we can trust CD Universe, that is):

Track Listing

1. Mark I

2. My Friend Ray

3. On Wings Of The Spirit

4. Then I Met You

5. It's No Time To Be Blue

6. Blue In Green

7. Blue Muse

8. Solitude

9. 3/4 Of The House

10. 'Round Midnight

11. Habiba

12. Blue Guitar Blues

Personnel: Kenny Burrell (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars); Herman Riley (saxophone, flute); Tom Rainer (piano, keyboards); Gerald Wiggins (piano); Roberto Miranda (bass); Sherman Ferguson (drums). Recorded at Castle Oaks Studios, Calabasas, California in 2000.

I haven't been out shopping in awhile... I better go grab this!

[Jim R]

BTW, Al, while I was surfing for info on BLUE MUSE, I came across a reference to Burrell's "MOTEN SWING" CD, where they called it "MOLTEN SWING". Run with it...

[Big Al]

MOLTEN SWING, of course, is that lost great KB album that was left unissued for several years before ALMOST being lost in a great CTI warehouse fire. It was originally to be titled Kenny Burrell Plays the Hits of Stan Freberg, but was renamed after the tapes apparently had melted together, hence the title. The lineup, oddly enough, is the same as that on Blue Muse, and many have speculated (well, I have anyway) that this reunion is a way to recreate some of that magic that was supposedly lost in the great fire.

Bad enough for ya?

[Big Al]

(Can you tell yet that Al and I are old buddies? No? Well, Al and I are old buddies).

Just to reiterate, in case y'all haven't figured out, Al and I.... I mean JIM and I are old buddies. Well, I'm not old, but you get the idea!

I wonder why this session has been sitting around for the last three years? (Again, assuming that CD Universe is correct!)

[Dan Gould]

All this schtick but you can't manage to mention the label?

[Big Al]

All this schtick but you can't manage to mention the label?

Please! Don't bother the artistes while we are working!

The label is Concord, but the website doesn't give any info.

[Sundog]

Sounds good! Especially like the fact, that Sherman Ferguson is on the drums for this one. Kenny and Sherman play very well together.

[Jazzmoose]

I heard a cut today on KCSM; sounded pretty good!

[Jim R]

I picked this up recently, and just remembered to return to this thread and make some comments.

First of all, this is one of my favorite Burrell CD's in years, and he's rarely made a weak one, IMO. This session offers a wonderful balance between old classics and new compositions; gentle, introspective ballads and energizing swingers; instrumentals and vocals. Kenny has never sounded better as a singer, which is pretty amazing considering his... er... advanced years. That's the thing about this disc- I don't hear any signs of decay or decline, either in terms of his technique nor his energy. It's just a beautiful display of talent all around (everyone plays their asses off), and KB really opens up his soul on this (the dedications to his wife, and friends living and deceased are powerfully demonstrated in the music). This man continues to be a jazz treasure...

[Eric]

I think Jim has nailed it. For my taste, a three and a half stars kind of CD. I could really go for a complete program of tunes like the first and last, which just ooze with that perfect KB guitar sound/tone. I lose a bit of interest on the vocals, however nice they are and some of the softer stuff. I think I will burn a CD of the best of this one and his last one on Concord ...

Eric