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Kenny Burrell
Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist
Kenny Burrell
known for his work on the Blue Note label. His collaborations with Jimmy
Smith produced the 1965 Billboard Top Twenty hit album Organ Grinder
Swing.[1] He has cited jazz guitarists Charlie Christian and Django
Reinhardt as influences, along with blues guitarists T-Bone Walker and
Muddy Waters.[2][3][4]
Burrell is a professor and Director of Jazz Studies at the UCLA Herb Alpert
School of Music.[5]
Contents
Biography
Awards
Discography
As leader
Compilations
Burrell in Buffalo, New York, 1977
As sideman
Background information
References
External links Birth name Kenneth Earl
Burrell
Born July 31, 1931
Biography Detroit, Michigan,
U.S.
Burrell was born in Detroit, Michigan. Both his parents played
Genres Jazz, blues, soul
instruments,[6] and he began playing guitar at the age of 12. He went on to
jazz
study composition and theory with Louis Cabara and classical guitar with
Joe Fava. While a student at Wayne State University, he made his Occupation(s) Musician,
recording debut as a member of Dizzy Gillespie's sextet in 1951, followed by educator
the "Rose of Tangier/Ground Round" single recorded under his own name Instruments Guitar
at Fortune Records in Detroit. While in college, Burrell founded the New Years active 1951–present
World Music Society collective with fellow Detroit musicians Pepper
Labels Blue Note,
Adams, Donald Byrd, Elvin Jones, and Yusef Lateef.[2][3][4][5]
Prestige, Verve,
Burrell toured with Oscar Peterson after graduating in 1955[6] and then Fantasy,
moved to New York City in 1956 with pianist Tommy Flanagan. Within Fortune, Concord
months, Burrell had recorded his first album as leader for Blue Note and Jazz, Highnote
both he and Flanagan were sought-after as sidemen and studio musicians, Associated acts Jimmy Smith,
performing with singers Tony Bennett and Lena Horne and recording with Stanley
Billie Holiday, Jimmy Smith, Gene Ammons, and Kenny Dorham, among Turrentine
others. From 1957 to 1959, Burrell occupied the former chair of Charlie
Christian in Benny Goodman's band. Since his New York debut Burrell has had a prolific recording career, and critics
have cited The Cats with John Coltrane in 1957, Midnight Blue with Stanley Turrentine in 1963, and Guitar Forms
with arranger Gil Evans in 1965 as particular highlights.[2][3][4]
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In 1978, he began teaching a course at UCLA called "Ellingtonia," examining the life and accomplishments of Duke
Ellington. Although the two never collaborated directly, Ellington called Burrell his "favorite guitarist", and Burrell has
recorded a number of tributes to and interpretations of Ellington's works. Since 1996, Burrell has served as Director of
Jazz Studies at UCLA, mentoring such notable alumni as Gretchen Parlato and Kamasi Washington.[4][5][7][8]
Awards
Burrell has won several jazz polls in Japan and the United Kingdom as well as in the United States. Burrell wrote,
arranged, and performed on the 1998 Grammy Award-winning album Dear Ella by Dee Dee Bridgewater, received the
2004 Jazz Educator of the Year Award from Down Beat, and was named a 2005 NEA Jazz Master.[4]
Discography
As leader
Introducing Kenny Burrell (Blue Note, 1956)
Kenny Burrell Volume 2 (Blue Note, 1956)
Swingin' (Blue Note, 1956 [rel. 1980])
All Night Long (Prestige, 1956)
All Day Long (Prestige, 1957)
Earthy (Prestige, 1957)
Kenny Burrell (Prestige, 1957)
2 Guitars (Prestige, 1957) with Jimmy Raney
K. B. Blues (Blue Note, 1957 [rel. 1979])
Monday Stroll (Savoy, 1957) with Frank Wess reissue of Opus in Swing
Just Wailin' (New Jazz, 1958) with Herbie Mann, Charlie Rouse, Mal Waldron
Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane (Prestige, 1958) with John Coltrane
Blue Lights Volume 1 (Blue Note, 1958)
Blue Lights Volume 2 (Blue Note, 1958)
On View at the Five Spot Cafe (Blue Note, 1959)
A Night at the Vanguard (Argo, 1959)
Weaver of Dreams (Columbia, 1960–61)
Bluesin' Around (Columbia, 1961–62 [rel. 1983])
Bluesy Burrell (Moodsville, 1962)
Midnight Blue (Blue Note, 1963)
Crash! (Prestige, 1963) with Jack McDuff
Lotsa Bossa Nova! (Kapp, 1963)
Blue Bash! (Verve, 1963) with Jimmy Smith
Travelin' Light (Prestige, 1964) with Shirley Scott
Soul Call (Prestige, 1964)
Freedom (Blue Note, 1963–64 [rel. 1980])
Guitar Forms (Verve, 1965)
The Tender Gender (Cadet, 1966)
Have Yourself a Soulful Little Christmas (Cadet, 1966)
A Generation Ago Today (Verve, 1966–67)
Ode to 52nd Street (Cadet, 1967)
Blues – The Common Ground (Verve, 1967–68)
Night Song (Verve, 1968–69)
Asphalt Canyon Suite (Verve, 1969)
God Bless the Child (CTI, 1971)
'Round Midnight (Fantasy, 1972)
Both Feet on the Ground (Fantasy, 1973)
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Up the Street, 'Round the Corner, Down the Block (Fantasy, 1974)
Stormy Monday (Fantasy, 1974 [rel. 1978])
Ellington Is Forever (Fantasy, 1975)
Ellington Is Forever Volume Two (Fantasy, 1975 [rel. 1977])
Sky Street (Fantasy, 1976)
Prime: Live at the Downtown Room (HighNote, 1976 [rel. 2009])
Tin Tin Deo (Concord, 1977)
Handcrafted (Muse, 1978)
When Lights Are Low (Concord, 1978)
Live at the Village Vanguard (Muse, 1978 [rel. 1980])
Kenny Burrell in New York (Muse, 1978 [rel. 1981])
Moon and Sand (Concord, 1979)
Heritige (Audio Source/Voss, 1980)
Listen to the Dawn (Muse, 1980 [rel. 1983])
Groovin' High (Muse, 1981 [rel. 1984])
A la Carte [live] (Muse, 1983 [rel. 1985])
Ellington a la Carte (Muse, 1983 [rel. 1991])
Togethering (Blue Note, 1985) with Grover Washington Jr.
Generation (featuring the Jazz Guitar Band) (Blue Note, 1986)
Pieces of Blue and the Blues (featuring the Jazz Guitar Band) (Blue Note, 1986 [rel. 1988])
Guiding Spirit: Recorded Live at the Village Vanguard (Contemporary, 1989)
Sunup to Sundown (Contemporary, 1991)
Midnight at the Village Vanguard (Evidence, 1993)
Then Along Came Kenny: Live at the Village Vanguard (Evidence, 1993)
Lotus Blossom (Concord, 1995)
Live at the Blue Note (featuring the Jazz Heritage All Stars) (Concord, 1996)
Love is the Answer (featuring the Boys Choir of Harlem) (Concord Concerto, 1997)
Lucky So and So (Concord, 2000)
Blue Muse (Concord, 2002)
The Ralph J. Bunche Suite (UCLA Ethnomusicology, 2006)
75th Birthday Bash Live! (Blue Note, 2006) with Gerald Wilson Orchestra
Tenderly: Solo Guitar Concert (HighNote, 2007 [rel. 2011])
Be Yourself: Live at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola (HighNote, 2008 [rel. 2010])
Special Requests (and Other Favorites): Live at Catalina's (HighNote, 2013)
The Road to Love (HighNote, 2015)
Unlimited 1: Live at Catalina's (featuring the Los Angeles Jazz Orchestra) (HighNote, 2016)
Compilations
Kenny Burrell and the Jazz Giants [Prestige/Fantasy/Contemporary/Milestone material] (Fantasy, 1998)
Laid Back [Muse material] (32 Jazz, 1998)
12–15–78 (32 Jazz, 1999) – compiles Live at the Village Vanguard, and Kenny Burrell in New York.
Introducing Kenny Burrell: The First Blue Note Sessions (Blue Note, 2000) – compiles Introducing Kenny Burrell,
Kenny Burrell Volume 2, and K. B. Blues.
As sideman
Jazzmen Detroit – with Tommy Flanagan, Pepper Adams, Paul Chambers, Kenny Clarke (Savoy, 1956) (also
released as Kenny Clarke Meets the Detroit Jazzmen)
With Nat Adderley
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Dee Gee Days: The Savoy Sessions (Savoy, 1951–52 [rel. 1976])
With Paul Gonsalves
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The Jazz Version of "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying" (Verve, 1962)
Soft Samba (Verve, 1963)
The In Sound (Verve, 1965)
With Jimmy McGriff
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References
1. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (20 November 1965). Billboard (https://books.google.com/books?id=MykEAAAAMB
AJ&pg=PT143). Nielsen Business Media. pp. 143–. ISSN 0006-2510 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0006-2510).
2. Collar, Matt. "Kenny Burrell" (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kenny-burrell-mn0000068780/biography). AllMusic.
Retrieved 3 August 2016.
3. Cohassey, John. "Kenny Burrell: Guitarist, Educator." Contemporary Musicians. Profiles of the People in Music.
Ed. Julia M. Rubiner. Vol. 11. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1994. 29-31. Print
4. Nash, Sunny. "Kenny Burrell Biography." PRLog, 13 May 2009. Web. 06 Mar. 2015.
5. O'Connell, Sean J. (24 January 2014). "A Jazz Elder Becomes A UCLA Professor" (https://www.npr.org/sections/a
blogsupreme/2014/01/24/265068901/to-preserve-americas-gift-to-the-world-a-jazz-elder-becomes-a-ucla-profess
or). NPR.org. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
6. Sallis, James. "Middle Ground: Herb Ellis, Howard Roberts, Jim Hall, Kenny Burrell, Joe Pass, Tal Farlow." Jazz
Guitars: An Anthology. First ed. New York: Quill, 1984. 197-207. Print.
7. "Jazz Studies Faculty | UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology" (http://www.ethnomusic.ucla.edu/jazz-studies).
Ethnomusic.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
8. "Kenny Burrell, 1999- Los Angeles Jazz Society" (http://www.lajazz.org/burrell.html). Lajazz.org. 1931-07-31.
Retrieved 2016-08-03.
External links
Kenny Burrell Interview (https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/kenny-burrell) NAMM Oral History Library
(2008)
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