Kenny Burrell

[Milestones]

I started up the George Benson discussion, and I've been following some other guitar threads.

I'm a big fan of Kenny Burrell. While not one of my earliest jazz discoveries, he became a big favorite; and of all mainstream jazz guitarists, I listen to him the most.

He is such a tasteful player and a true master of bop, blues, and ballads.

I thought Be Yourself (a live date ) was quite good. I have not heard his recent solo album.

There are many outstanding records over a very long career, and certainly it's useful to follow his work as a sideman.

As leader:

Midnight Blue (one of the great blues records)

Ellington is Forever (I favor Vol. 2)

Generation (the 3-guitar band with Rodney Jones and Bobby Broom)

Guiding Spirit (with Jay Hoggard)

Edited February 20, 2013 by Milestones

[J.A.W.]

Recent thread on Kenny Burrell:

[robertoart]

Recent thread on Kenny Burrell:

I can't get to the link?

[Milestones]

I'm not being allowed access either.

[robertoart]

So..... i really like the early 70's electric piano vibe of the Round Midnight album.

Also the Verve Night Song album. This is of course in addition to the more well known albums.

I remember buying the Generations album when it first came out, but couldn't get with the three guitar format, even though I get into Bobby Broom and Rodney Jones. i'd like to hear that one again, all these years later.

Edited February 19, 2013 by freelancer

[Milestones]

I regard Generation as a true classic. The follow-up album, Pieces of Blue and the Blues, is also very good--especially the opener, "Confessin' the Blues" (Kenny opens on acoustic and ends on electric). Jazz/blues doesn't get any better.

[J.A.W.]

I can't get to the link?

I'm not being allowed access either.

The older Kenny Burrell thread (from 2012) seems to have been deleted. I have no idea why.

Edited February 19, 2013 by J.A.W.

[robertoart]

I can't get to the link?

I'm not being allowed access either.

The older Kenny Burrell thread (from 2012) seems to have been deleted. I have no idea why.

See. This is what I'm sayin.

No love for Kenny

[Larry Kart]

Sorry -- I deleted the wrong thread. Don't know how to repair the mistake.

OK -- I restored it. Or did I? Help.

[king ubu]

That topic doesn't seem to exist, Hans, no matter how I'm playing around with the URL or try a google search: no luck in getting there!

Anyway, Burrell is one of my favourite guitarists, and quite likely the first one I really *heard*. That was when I got Jimmy Smith's "Back at the Chicken Shack", one of my first dozen or so jazz albums. Then again on "The Cats", the great Prestige album with Coltrane, Idrees Sulieman, Tommy Flanagan, Doug Watkins and Louis Hayes. Caught him live around 1999 or so, with an all star package that should have included Milt Jackson - not sure any more if he was dead by then or just too weak to do the tour, Bobby Hutcherson who was booked as his replacement did his very best to appear bored and totally without any interest in what the others on stage played ... those others were besides Burell: Hank Jones, Ray Brown, and Mickey Roker. Roker didn't have his best night (he seemed to rush the beat again and again), but it was terrific to hear Jones and Burrell do their thing, Brown lay out the bottom, and well, Booby... he was just completely not happening that night. Too bad as I never had a chance to catch him since.

Burrell albums I enjoy include "Midnight Blue", the Savoy date available as "Monday Stroll" or "Jazzmen Detroit", "Guitar Forms", the early Blue Note sessions on the Connoisseur 2CD set (plus Doug Watkins' "Watkins at Large", which fits nicely with the third date on the KB Conn set!), the live album from the Five Spot, "Blue Bash" with Jimmy Smith, the album with Coltrane, "A Night at the Village Vanguard", "12-15-78" (the 2CD reissue of his Muse live session), and also some of those jams, "Blue Lights", "All Night Long", "All Day Long", his contributions to some of those Gene Ammons dates, "Motor City Scene" with Donald Byrd/Pepper Adams, his playing on "Whims of Chambers" (another one I had since my teens), then the great Kenny Dorham live material on Blue Note, where KB sits in with the Jazz Prophets, his contribution to "The Individualism of Gil Evans", Coleman Hawkins' "Soul", Jimmy Heath's "On the Trail", Thad Jones' first Blue Note album, that Taft Jordan Moodsville album, the Prestige dates with Jack McDuff, Ike Quebec's "Bossa Nova Soul Samba", his various other albums with Jimmy Smith, Ed Thigpen's "Out of the Storm", the albums he made with Stanley Turrentine, etc. etc.

He was really all over the place ... and he's quite clearly my favourite hardbop guitarist (which Grant Green is not ... it would be a real hard choice for me between KB and GG, love both, but they're so different).

[JSngry]

The trio w/Richard Davis & Roy Haynes, hey.

Also like the early 70s Prestige sides, and the CTI side as well. Burrell's sound lent itself well to Rhodes and/or CTI, although ironically, Burrell had some "classic" albums on Verve produced by Taylor that don't have the immediate impact of his CTI album. I mean, ok, Guitar Forms has Gil Evans and some really diverse and excellent plecteral presentations, but nothing on there comes up and says HERE WE ARE like "Be Yourself", and oh btw, look out for the helicopter.

Of the Prestige sides, 'Round Midnight has already been mentioned, and yes, I love the dark, rich sound there of, not just Burrell but of the record itself, and the synergy with that provided by the cover photo. But perhaps even more fun to me are the two albums w/Jerome Richardson on board - Up The Street, Around The Corner, Down The Block and, especially Sky Street. After that period, it seemed that he started getting a little "retro"-ish, which, ok, but..

As for older things (retro before it had time to turn retro), a real gem that is not commonly known is a thing for Argo- Here's Love yet another "jazz plays songs from a Broadway show" thing, and the songs are...yeah, sure, whatever, but the group is Burrell, Hank Jones, Milt Hinton, and Elvin Jones, and as always, Elvin plays the gig and brings Elvin to the mix. The whole thing swings like hell and the tunes become a non-factor in your jazz listening pleasure. Check it out!

[J.A.W.]

That topic doesn't seem to exist, Hans, no matter how I'm playing around with the URL or try a google search: no luck in getting there!

See my last post and Larry's post above yours. It can now be accessed again.

Edited February 19, 2013 by J.A.W.

[king ubu]

That topic doesn't seem to exist, Hans, no matter how I'm playing around with the URL or try a google search: no luck in getting there!

See my last post and Larry's post above yours. It can now be accessed again.

I know, saw them, have been typing my lengthy post all that time and missed the "action"

Got "Round Midnight" last year, but don't think I've listened before losing track of where the CD might be ... will have to do some digging!

[Milestones]

King Ubu, it sounds like you have more Kenny as a sideman than I do.

He is naturally a contributor to any setting or situation.

Another good one is Portraits in Jazz and Clave by Ray Barretto.

Edited February 19, 2013 by Milestones

[robertoart]

It's a crying shame we don't have any early film of Kenny (and Grant or even Benson) from the Sixties, like we do of Wes.

[robertoart]

Richard Wyands and Kenny Burrell just epitomise 'Lounge' in a great way.

That was a super complementary team.

[JSngry]

This is a favorite. Such a nice tune, hip changes, keeps moving, lands on some unexpected places along the way, hits a mellowstrong groove, and Jerome Richardson is LOL casualgood.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KqmHsBUzD0

Edited February 19, 2013 by JSngry

[Milestones]

Based on online samples, I have to say Out of the Storm (Thigpen) sounds wonderful...something to acquire.

[RiRiIII]

Based on online samples, I have to say Out of the Storm (Thigpen) sounds wonderful...something to acquire.

HIGHLY recommended. I managed once to find the long deleted CD in Verve Elite series. What an album!

[J.A.W.]

That album (Out of the Storm) sounds weird to me, with the drums too much in the foreground. The mix spoils it for me and so do the tuned drums.

Edited February 19, 2013 by J.A.W.

[king ubu]

Guess I better get that CTI while it's still around!

[Peter Friedman]

Don't recall mention of the two very early Blue Note albums with Burrell as leader. They are among my favorites by Kenny.

[mikeweil]

The trio w/Richard Davis & Roy Haynes, hey.

That's such a good album ... gave it to my band's guitar player recently, and at the next rehearsal he said it was among the very best guitar albums he had ever heard, and got himself half a dozen Burrell albums from the library ...

Hate to promote Yurpean half-legal issues, but recently the complete tracks from that session were compiled on one CD by Essential Jazz Classics - now Universal should have done that at the occasion of their recent reissue, but ...

Don't recall mention of the two very early Blue Note albums with Burrell as leader. They are among my favorites by Kenny.

Mine, too - I was so glad Blue Note put it all together on one twofer. I like it so much I bought a second copy during a recent sellout.

[king ubu]

Don't recall mention of the two very early Blue Note albums with Burrell as leader. They are among my favorites by Kenny.

I mentioned them among many others - can't help it, love KB!

[danasgoodstuff]

That trio with RD & RH is sterling, whether you like 'sterling' is another matter...I do, at least in this instance. Also dig Midnight Blue, "Why Was I Born" duo w/Coltrance (typo, I swear, but a good one), and some of his more unusual sideman appearances, like distorted all to hell with Sammy Price and King Curtis.

Almost forgot, Have Yerself a Souldfull Little Xmas, love that!