mikeweil Posted June 18, 2016 Report Posted June 18, 2016 (edited) In 1963 Kenny Burrell started a series of sessions as a leader for Verve that produved some of his most famous albums, Guitar Forms in particular, but I do not see them mentioned that often here on the forum. Is it due to his enormous output of a hundred albums as a leader? Please share your opinions. For starters, here's an overview: - June 6, 1963: two tracks, personnel unknown, unissued - June 7, 1963: two tracks, personnel unknown, unissued - July 16, 1963: two tracks with Jimmy Smith for the Blue Bash! LP (CD reissue has two alternates added) - July 25, 1963: two tracks with Jimmy Smith for the Blue Bash! LP (CD reissue has three alternates added) - July 26, 1963: two tracks with Jimmy Smith for the Blue Bash! LP (CD reissue has two alternates added; one track was issued on Smith's Any Number Can Win LP and was not included on the Verve Master edition reissue, which, btw, goes for ridiculous prices) - December 4, 1964: two tracks with the Gil Evans Orchestra for the Guitar Forms LP - December 15, 1964: two tracks with the Gil Evans Orchestra for the Guitar Forms LP - April 6, 1965: one track with the Gil Evans Orchestra for the Guitar Forms LP - April 6, 1965: three tracks with Roger Kellaway, Joe Benjamin, Grady Tate & Wille Rodriguez plus one solo guitar track for the Guitar Forms LP (Verve Master Edition reissue has several alternates) - August 17, 1966: three tracks with unknown personnel, unissued - August 18, 1966: six tracks with unknown personnel, unissued - December 16, 1966: four tracks, with Phil Woods, Mike Mainieri, Richard Wyands, Ron Carter, Grady Tate; two issued on A Generation Ago Today; all four on the CD reissue For Charlie and Benny - December 20, 1966: four tracks, with Phil Woods, Mike Mainieri, Ron Carter, Grady Tate; two issued on A Generation Ago Today; all four on the CD reissue For Charlie and Benny - January 21, 1967: one track with Phil Woods, Ron Carter, Grady Tate; issued on A Generation Ago Today - January 21, 1967: three tracks with Phil Woods, Ron Carter, Grady Tate; issued on A Generation Ago Today All tracks from A Generation Ago Today were reissued on a Verve CD titled For Charlie and Benny (Christian and Goodman, that is) with four bonus tracks: - December 15, 1967: five tracks with orchestra arranged and conducted by Don Sebesky for Blues: The Common Ground (one remains unissued) - February 12, 1968: four tracks with orchestra arranged and conducted by Don Sebesky for Blues: The Common Ground - February 12, 1968: three tracks with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Grady Tate for Blues: The Common Ground All issued tracks on the Verve Master Edition CD reissue: - April 14, 1968: one track with orchestra arranged and conducted by Don Sebesky for Night Song - April 18, 1968: two tracks with orchestra arranged and conducted by Don Sebesky for Night Song (one remains unissued) - April 19, 1968: four tracks with orchestra arranged and conducted by Don Sebesky for Night Song (two remain unissued) - May 17, 1968: one track with unknown personnel, unissued - June, 1968: two tracks with unknown personnel, unissued (assigned to Burrell in the Verve discography, but uncertain) - c. December, 1968: four tracks with unknown personnel, unissued (assigned to Burrell in the Verve discography, but uncertain) - January 6, 1969: one guitar solo track for Night Song - January 14, 1969: two tracks with Richard Wyands, Ron Carter, Freddie Waits for Night Song - January 17, 1969: two tracks with Richard Wyands, Ron Carter, Freddie Waits for Night Song There was a Japanese paper sleeve reissue of this album in 2004 which goes for high prices. - October 8, 1969: two tracks with Roland Hanna and brass section arranged by Johnny Pate for Asphalt Canyon Suite - October 10, 1969: five tracks with Roland Hanna and brass section arranged by Johnny Pate for Asphalt Canyon Suite (three remain unissued) - October 16, 1969: four tracks with Roland Hanna and brass section arranged by Johnny Pate for Asphalt Canyon Suite There was a Japanese reissue in 2004 (used copies are costly): In 1971, Burrell recorded his only LP for CTI, God Bless The Child; from 1972 he made a number of LPs for Fantasy. In between his Verve albums he made three for Cadet - does anyone know about the circumstances of this recording arrangement? A Mosaic box of these albums would have been nice, methinks. I never had a chance to listen to Night Song and have heard only one track from Asphalt Canyon Suite on AFN Radio in my teens. I should have got me a copy of Blue Bash! as long as it was available, as used copies go for many bucks on amazon. The others I have, and like and cherish. Edited June 20, 2016 by mikeweil Quote
CJ Shearn Posted June 18, 2016 Report Posted June 18, 2016 Mike, I love "Blue Bash". On Amazon used copies go from $14.95 Quote
kh1958 Posted June 18, 2016 Report Posted June 18, 2016 A Generation Ago Today, from 1967, is excellent. Perhaps never reissued on CD? Quote
Eric Posted June 18, 2016 Report Posted June 18, 2016 I took the plunge for Night Song and Asphalt Canyon back in the day. I like them both - they deserve to be reissued. Quote
mikeweil Posted June 18, 2016 Author Report Posted June 18, 2016 (edited) 6 hours ago, CJ Shearn said: Mike, I love "Blue Bash". On Amazon used copies go from $14.95 Duh! On amazon.de used copies are offered from € 35 upwards ... plus € 3 for shipping. A copy from the US would cost me € 27.50 including shipping, copies from the UK or France go for similar quotes, are mostly from the same sellers ... I'll wait for better days. 6 hours ago, kh1958 said: A Generation Ago Today, from 1967, is excellent. Perhaps never reissued on CD? The CD I pictured, For Charlie and Benny, is the expanded CD reissue. No idea whether the Japanese CD (with the original title) has the bonus tracks, too. Edited June 18, 2016 by mikeweil Quote
mikeweil Posted June 18, 2016 Author Report Posted June 18, 2016 (edited) Seems all the sellers of Blue Bash! are based in the US - just placed a bid on ebay - if I win, it will cost me much less although shipping rates are almost the same as on amazon. Edited June 18, 2016 by mikeweil Quote
Peter Friedman Posted June 19, 2016 Report Posted June 19, 2016 Blues Bash and For Charlie and Benny are the ones I prefer. The others have some very good small group tracks, but would have much preferred the entire sessions without the Don Sebesky large group tracks. Quote
Jim R Posted June 19, 2016 Report Posted June 19, 2016 For me, his best album (by far) for Verve was 'Night Song'. For decades (and perhaps still, I don't know), it was the most difficult to find (LP was difficult to find, no CD available for decades). It was only about 12 years ago, I think, that it was released in Japan as a mini-LP. 'Blue Bash' is solid, but I find other Smith collaborations ('Organ Grinder Swing' for one) to be superior to it. 'A Generation Ago Today' is a nice album too, but of course with a very different feel from most of KB's work, and the swing revival theme never struck me as a great match for KB's musical personality. I've never warmed very much to the majority of his Verve orchestral albums, and rarely played them. 'Guitar Forms' always struck me as something that didn't live up to its potential. Quote
mikeweil Posted June 20, 2016 Author Report Posted June 20, 2016 19 hours ago, Jim R said: 'Guitar Forms' always struck me as something that didn't live up to its potential. Many of these albums are split between small group and orchestral settings, which weakens them a bit, IMO - maybe a producer's attitude? Guitar Forms would have been much more convincing with Gil Evans' arrangements on the whole album. That one side always leaves me wishing for more. Quote
Milestones Posted June 24, 2016 Report Posted June 24, 2016 (edited) I certainly have a number of these, including Guitar Forms (naturally), though I agree with those who find Night Song to be a first-rate album. I also like the Christmas record--not bad, as these things go. Much of his Verve music sounds over-produced to my ears. I've wondered if he was in competition with Wes in terms of a lush and poppy approach. Edited June 24, 2016 by Milestones Quote
six string Posted June 24, 2016 Report Posted June 24, 2016 Of these Verve titles the only one I have is Night Song which I found a few years ago on vinyl. It sounds like I got lucky. Didn't know it was a tough one to find. I've usually avoided orchestral jazz albums though there have been exceptions. Quote
mikeweil Posted June 24, 2016 Author Report Posted June 24, 2016 (edited) 18 hours ago, Milestones said: I also like the Christmas record--not bad, as these things go. That was one of the three Cadet LPs he recorded in between - I wonder what type of contract Burrell had ... The Tender Gender (April & May,1966), reissued as Soulero on GRP, with bonus tracks from the Christmas LP; or as a 1-to-1 reissue on Passion Jazz (properly licensed) Have Yourself a Soulful Little Christmas, October 1966, on CD in the Verve LP style reissue series Ode To 52nd Street, September 1967, partly on the CD Soulero or complete in the Chessmates series These three are much easier to come by as CDs ... they're under the same roof now (Universal), but were not back in the day. Edited June 24, 2016 by mikeweil Quote
Kyo Posted July 12, 2016 Report Posted July 12, 2016 On 18.6.2016 at 3:03 PM, mikeweil said: - December 16, 1966: four tracks, with Phil Woods, Mike Mainieri, Richard Wyands, Ron Carter, Grady Tate; two issued on A Generation Ago Today; all four on the CD reissue For Charlie and Benny - December 20, 1966: four tracks, with Phil Woods, Mike Mainieri, Ron Carter, Grady Tate; two issued on A Generation Ago Today; all four on the CD reissue For Charlie and Benny - January 21, 1967: one track with Phil Woods, Ron Carter, Grady Tate; issued on A Generation Ago Today - January 21, 1967: three tracks with Phil Woods, Ron Carter, Grady Tate; issued on A Generation Ago Today All tracks from A Generation Ago Today were reissued on a Verve CD titled For Charlie and Benny (Christian and Goodman, that is) with four bonus tracks: Thanks for mentioning this - jazzdisco.org doesn't include it and so I never realized that this material had been reissued on CD in Europe. Managed to find a cheap copy right away, too! Quote
six string Posted July 15, 2016 Report Posted July 15, 2016 For some reason I only own Night Song as far as Kenny's Verve albums. Everything I own is on Blue Note, Prestige or New Jazz I think. Plus Fantasy for the Ellington double albums. I tend to shy away from jazz and orchestra projects. Not sure why I haven't picked them up other than I have a lot of his muskc. I love his playing so I'm always shocked to hear his critics go at him. Quote
RiRiIII Posted July 19, 2016 Report Posted July 19, 2016 (edited) Last weekend we played the japanese mini-lp cds of "Night Song" and "Asphalt Canyon Suite" (I bought them used some years ago before getting so expensive - it is really strange that both have been issued on Cd only once and never globally, while e.g. Guitar Forms is always in print). Asphalt Canyon Suite is one of his best records IMO, and the best from his Verve years. "Blues The Common Ground" has been also played afterwards - no comparison as a listening experience compared to the above. A Generation Ago Today has been issued with the original sleeve and title in Japan as mini LP (I do have it) and is currently in print as SHM-CD. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/UCCU-6245 The Japanese CDs do not include the bonus tracks. Edited July 19, 2016 by RiRiIII Add Quote
crisp Posted July 19, 2016 Report Posted July 19, 2016 (edited) From the cover of that one I was expecting wigged-out versions of Sunny, Green Tambourine, etc, but no: it's all jazz standards, very Mosaic-friendly. Edited July 19, 2016 by crisp Quote
Kyo Posted July 23, 2016 Report Posted July 23, 2016 (edited) On 18.6.2016 at 3:03 PM, mikeweil said: - December 16, 1966: four tracks, with Phil Woods, Mike Mainieri, Richard Wyands, Ron Carter, Grady Tate; two issued on A Generation Ago Today; all four on the CD reissue For Charlie and Benny - December 20, 1966: four tracks, with Phil Woods, Mike Mainieri, Ron Carter, Grady Tate; two issued on A Generation Ago Today; all four on the CD reissue For Charlie and Benny - January 21, 1967: one track with Phil Woods, Ron Carter, Grady Tate; issued on A Generation Ago Today - January 21, 1967: three tracks with Phil Woods, Ron Carter, Grady Tate; issued on A Generation Ago Today All tracks from A Generation Ago Today were reissued on a Verve CD titled For Charlie and Benny (Christian and Goodman, that is) with four bonus tracks: Got the CD, excellent album! Sadly the discographical information is incomplete and jazzdisco.org doesn't list the extra tracks. Can you give more detailed information on this? Also, there are only eleven tracks on the disc (you list twelve above). Edited July 23, 2016 by Kyo Quote
Jim R Posted July 23, 2016 Report Posted July 23, 2016 (edited) 5 hours ago, Kyo said: Got the CD, excellent album! Sadly the discographical information is incomplete and jazzdisco.org doesn't list the extra tracks. Can you give more detailed information on this? Also, there are only eleven tracks on the disc (you list twelve above). I have the 1986 release from West Germany. It contains 11 tracks (3 previously unreleased). I'm not finding any other CD issue other than the 1990 Japanese version with the original title and cover ("A Generation Ago Today") and no bonus tracks. Also, the dates in my booklet conflict a bit with Mike's data listed above. My copy shows the dates as: Dec 15, 1966; Dec 20, 1966; January 31, 1967; and March 28, 1967. jazzdisco.org does show "Moonglow", but as you say, not the other two unissued tracks. Discogs.com page shows the bonus tracks, but is in error in not including "Seven Come Eleven" as a bonus track. https://www.discogs.com/Kenny-Burrell-For-Charlie-Christian-And-Benny-Goodman/release/7076919 Edited July 23, 2016 by Jim R Quote
mikeweil Posted July 24, 2016 Author Report Posted July 24, 2016 You're lucky: I'm on vacation, but For Charlie and Benny is among the CDs I took with us for listening ... Here's the info from the Lord disco, slightly edited - the CD did not clearly attribute the bonus tracks to specific sessions. A Generation Ago Today : Phil Woods (as,cl) Mike Mainieri (vib-1) Richard Wyands (p-2) Kenny Burrell (g) Ron Carter (b) Grady Tate (d) New York, December 16, 1966 101815 Wholly cats (1,2) Verve V/V6-8656, 831097-2 [CD], 527652-2 [CD] 101816 A smooth one - - Seven come eleven (1,*) - , 527652-2 [CD] Flying home (1,*) - Note: (*) Prob. from this session. Verve 831097-2 [CD] titled "For Charlie And Benny"; see following sessions to March 28, 1967 for rest of CD. Richard Wyands out New York, December 20, 1966 101840 Medley: Moonglow/Theme from Picnic Verve 831087-2 [CD] 101841 As long as I live (1) V/V6-8656, 831097-2 [CD] 101842 I surrender dear - - Phil Woods (as) Kenny Burrell (g) Ron Carter (b) Grady Tate (d) New York, January 31, 1967 102033 If I had you Verve V/V6-8656, 831097-2 [CD] same pers New York, March 28, 1967 102456 Poor butterfly Verve V/V6-8656, 831097-2 [CD] 102457 Stompin' at the Savoy - - 102458 Rose room - - All titles from Verve V/V6-8656 also on Verve (Jap)20MJ-0091, MV-2115, MV-4006. All titles from Verve 831097-2 [CD] also on Verve (Jap)J33J-25020 [CD], both titled "For Charlie and Benny". Glad to hear you like it - it's always nice to make another jazz collector happy Quote
mikeweil Posted September 4, 2016 Author Report Posted September 4, 2016 Turns out I have downloads of Night Song as well as Asphalt Canyon Suite on an external hard drive hooked to my old Windows XP computer. When I started it, everything turned out fine, much to my surprise, and I can access a few hundred albums downloaded several years ago. Will listen to these and check back in again. Quote
robertoart Posted September 5, 2016 Report Posted September 5, 2016 (edited) Another recommendation for Night Song from me. Overall I find the Verve and Fantasy albums to be A1 in playing and tone. There's a small few I don't have yet. For some reason Asphalt Canyon Suite has eluded me. I might make a concerted effort to track down an original pressing on Ebay. Is there a Jazz Discogs sessionography for Mr Burrell? The internet might run out of bandwidth if there is. Edited September 5, 2016 by robertoart Quote
mikeweil Posted September 5, 2016 Author Report Posted September 5, 2016 There was a thread on Ellington Is Forever, but I find his other Fantasy LPs a bit more interesting. The Fantasy LPs all have that dreaded bass pickup sound, but musically they are a good bunch. Maybe another thread? Quote
_forumlogo.png.a607ef20a6e0c299ab2aa6443aa1f32e.png)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.