Kenny Burrell - The Making of the "Guitar Forms" album. by Steve Siegel

[Elmo]

Burrell is on hundreds of records, many of which are among the more famous jazz sessions of the LP era, yet he has never secured the popularity which a guitarist might have expected in a period when its practitioners became as important as saxophonists and pianists. He grew up in Detroit and worked there until a tour with Oscar Peterson minded him to look further afield, and he moved to New York in 1956. His Christian-derived style helped get him a job with Benny Goodman, but thereafter he played in settings which were in the heartland of hard bop, for Prestige, Blue Note and New Jazz. Less a sideman and more a partner with several small-group leaders - especially Jimmy Smith, who was a favourite collaborator - Burrell's easy going manner fits so snugly and accommodatingly into any jazz groove that he can almost disappear in a band situation, but his solos and rhythm parts are bluesily effective whatever the prevailing conditions. Gil Evans arranged Guitar Forms for him at Verve, which is perhaps the closest Burrell has ever been to a big-time date.

                                                  Richard Cook's Jazz Encyclopedia

Steve Siegel - on Jazz Profiles:

https://jazzprofiles.blogspot.com/2023/11/kenny-burrell-making-of-guitar-forms.html?m=1

 

 

[Dan Gould]

thanks for posting this.

[Teasing the Korean]

There is a nice bossa on this album, "Moon and Sand," by Alec Wilder.  I have often included this on bossa compilations/playlists I have curated over the years.

[sgcim]

2 hours ago, Teasing the Korean said:

There is a nice bossa on this album, "Moon and Sand," by Alec Wilder.  I have often included this on bossa compilations/playlists I have curated over the years.

Yeah, beautiful arr. by Gil with those french horns. M&S never sounded as good as it did on that album.

I don't know about the thesis of that article, Burrell is as well-known a guitarist by anyone into the music. Even rockers love "Midnight Blue".

[Teasing the Korean]

12 minutes ago, sgcim said:

...I don't know about the thesis of that article, Burrell is as well-known a guitarist by anyone into the music...

Yeah, that threw me for a loop also.  Who doesn't know about Kenny Burrell?

[sgcim]

5 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said:

Yeah, that threw me for a loop also.  Who doesn't know about Kenny Burrell?

Jorma Kaukonen said in an interview that he used to see KB doing somersaults in the 60s in clubs when he was soloing when rock started getting big.

Of course that was nothing compared to my new idol, Larry Collins. I now base my entire performing routine on this young master of the instrument:

 

[JSngry]

 

[mikeweil]

IMHO Guitar Forms would have been a top notch album if they had done all of the tracks with Evans. The combo tracks do not live up to that standard. 

Just my two cents, of course. 

[sgcim]

On 11/21/2023 at 6:09 PM, JSngry said:

 

The kid was born in 1944. In a later interview in the 90's he describes himself as the poster child for Ritalin.

 

22 hours ago, mikeweil said:

IMHO Guitar Forms would have been a top notch album if they had done all of the tracks with Evans. The combo tracks do not live up to that standard. 

Just my two cents, of course. 

Agreed.

[medjuck]

18 minutes ago, sgcim said:

The kid was born in 1944. In a later interview in the 90's he describes himself as the poster child for Ritalin.

 I used to see the Collins Kids on tv a lot in the '50s.

 

23 hours ago, mikeweil said:

IMHO Guitar Forms would have been a top notch album if they had done all of the tracks with Evans. The combo tracks do not live up to that standard. 

Just my two cents, of course. 

Ditto. However if they waited for Gil to do 4 more arrangements we might still be waiting. 

Edited November 23, 2023 by medjuck

[Elmo]

Firstly, thank you to all who have viewed my article on Burrell. I hope you enjoyed it!

I would like to offer a bit of clarification re the supposed "thesis" of the article being that Burrell was not well known...

The comment at the prelude (above) to the article that claims that "Burrell had never secured the popularity..." was made by Richard Cook in the Blue Note Encyclopedia and was not my writing. This was added by the editorial staff at Jazz Profiles as their introduction to the article and was actually a very true statement during the period right before the Guitar Forms album was made.

In the August 2, 1962 issue of Downbeat, in the International Critics Poll, Burrell secured only 12 of approximately 250 votes for best guitarist. Wes Montgomery won with 79 votes. The poll results were obviously to improve for Burrell in subsequent years but it took time.

My actual thesis for the article only addressed the why, how and with whom he made the album and its impact on his career.

Steve Siegel

[sgcim]

45 minutes ago, Elmo said:

Firstly, thank you to all who have viewed my article on Burrell. I hope you enjoyed it!

I would like to offer a bit of clarification re the supposed "thesis" of the article being that Burrell was not well known...

The comment at the prelude (above) to the article that claims that "Burrell had never secured the popularity..." was made by Richard Cook in the Blue Note Encyclopedia and was not my writing. This was added by the editorial staff at Jazz Profiles as their introduction to the article and was actually a very true statement during the period right before the Guitar Forms album was made.

In the August 2, 1962 issue of Downbeat, in the International Critics Poll, Burrell secured only 12 of approximately 250 votes for best guitarist. Wes Montgomery won with 79 votes. The poll results were obviously to improve for Burrell in subsequent years but it took time.

My actual thesis for the article only addressed the why, how and with whom he made the album and its impact on his career.

Steve Siegel

Alright, Richard Cook gets an F, and you get an A+!