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Kenny Burr
Frank Wess + Kenny Burrell
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Some of the hippest small-group albums recorded in the mid-1950s were those by Frank Wess for Savoy. These include Flutes and Reeds (1955), Opus de Jazz (1955) led by Milt Jackson, North South East Wess (1956), Trombones & Flutes (1956), No Count led by Frank Foster, Jazz for Playboys (1957), Flute Suite and Jazz Is Busting Out All Over led by A.K. Salim, and Opus De Blues (1959). One of my favorites is Opus in Swing. Recorded in June 1956, ...
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John Jenkins & Kenny Burrell
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Alto saxophonist John Jenkins never recorded a bad album—as a leader or a sideman. When you hear him, the first person you think of is Jackie McLean. Both had an urgent, insistent edge, particularly on the saxophone's upper register. Remarkably, Jenkins recorded just 11 albums, only three of which were leadership dates. Given how special Jenkins was, his studio output was shockingly scant. My favorite of the three leadership albums is John Jenkins With Kenny Burrell. Recorded for Blue Note ...
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Kenny Burrell: Dream Weaver
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
I recently posted on leading jazz instrumentalists who also happened to have great singing voices. I skipped the obvious ones, such as Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and Nat King Cole, and focused instead on ones that would likely surprise you. I also didn't include my favorite musician-vocalist—Kenny Burrell. I wanted to save him for a separate post. I have no idea whether Burrell took vocal lessons or when exactly he began singing professionally. But his talent had been widely known. ...
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Kenny Burrell: Freedom
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
In March 1963, guitarist Kenny Burrell was at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in New Jersey to record singles for Blue Note or songs for an album. For whatever reason, the musicians on the date only could manage to get through three songs, with each one requiring a high number of takes. Burrell returned to Van Gelder's studio in October 1964 to record five songs with a completely different group. Here again, a sizable number of takes were needed on most ...
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Kenny Burrell Big Band Tribute Concert Benefits The World Stage, South LA's Home For Jazz And Their Education Programs
Source:
Chuck Koton
Los Angeles, CA: The big band tribute concert honoring guitar legend Kenny Burrell at the Ford Amphitheatre on August 18 will benefit The World Stage Performance Gallery, South LA’s home for jazz, and their incredible jazz education programs. With music direction by John Beasley, the benefit will be an evening of contemporary large ensemble sounds from Burrell’s Los Angeles Jazz Orchestra Unlimited and Beasley’s MONK’estra. Legendary guitarist Lee Ritenour and singers Gretchen Parlato, Georgia Anne Muldrow and Dwight Trible are ...
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Shirley Scott + Kenny Burrell
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
In February 1964—smack in the middle of two recording sessions with then husband and tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine—organist Shirley Scott recorded with guitarist Kenny Burrell. She had just wrapped Hustlin' with Turrentine at the end of January and would be back in the studio for Blue Flames at the end of March. Backing Scott and Burrell on this Ozzie Cadena-produced album for Prestige were bassist Eddie Khan and drummer Otis “Candy" Finch. What makes this album so exciting is what's ...
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Guitarist Kenny Burrell Interviewed at All About Jazz!
Source:
All About Jazz
Kenny Burrell has appeared on so many essential jazz recordings that jazz history and his story seem irretrievably intertwined. Billie Holiday's valedictory rumination Lady Sings the Blues (Verve, 1956)? Jimmy Smith's epochal funk throwdown Back at the Chicken Shack (Blue Note, 1960)? Tony Bennett's Carnegie Hall debut? Kenny Burrell played guitar for them all. Even Jimi Hendrix once famously remarked, “Kenny Burrell—that's the sound I'm looking for." Burrell has shown no sign of slowing down in the ensuing decades. He ...
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Kenny Burrell, Octogenarian
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
Kenny Burrell has joined the parade of major jazz artists entering octogenarianism and performing at a high level. The guitarist is of a generation of Detroit musicians including Tommy Flanagan, Pepper Adams, Elvin Jones, Roland Hanna and Louis Hayes that made a significant impact on jazz. Burrell's 80th birthday was a week ago. He is preparing for a concert next weekend. Here's more from a Scott Zimberg profile of the guitarist in The Los Angeles Times: Part of what's kept ...
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Kenny Burrell: Soul Call
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Kenny Burrell has appeared on nearly 600 jazz record dates between 1950 and 2008, which is an eyebrow raiser. One of the busiest session guitarists of the '50s, 60s and '70s, many of his jazz dates were sideman jobs. Burrell was a favorite of leaders for his chameleon-like ability to be groovy, soulful, bluesy, swinging or lounge, depending on what was needed and the mood at hand. But given Burrell's prolific role as a rhythmic force on other artists' albums, ...
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Kenny Burrell - Be Yourself (High Note)
Source:
Master of a Small House
Advancing age has a disquieting habit of eroding jazz relevancy. Stars of the hard bop era alive today have to wrestle with bodies of work that can easily become millstones attached to their creativity. The old specter of diminishing returns isn't some harmless haint. Still performing and recording in his 78th year, guitarist Kenny Burrell knows these potential dangers firsthand. His playing from the mid-Fifties onward set a standard for bop-based fretwork, but six decades on it's a style that's ...
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