Kenny Burrell


Kenneth Earl Burrell is an American jazz guitarist, singer and composer known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 Billboard Top Twenty hit Verve album Organ Grinder Swing. Burrell has cited jazz guitarists Charlie Christian, Oscar Moore, and Django Reinhardt as influences, along with blues guitarists T-Bone Walker and Muddy Waters.
Burrell is a professor and Director of Jazz Studies at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

Early life

Burrell was born in Detroit. Both his parents played instruments, and he began playing guitar at the age of 12 after listening to Charlie Christian's recordings. During World War II, due to metal shortage, he abandoned the idea of becoming a saxophonist, and bought an acoustic guitar for $10. He was inspired to play jazz after listening to Oscar Moore, but it was Django Reinhardt who showed him "that you could get your own individuality on an instrument." He went on to study composition and theory with Louis Cabara and classical guitar with Joe Fava. While a student at Wayne State University, he made his recording debut as a member of Dizzy Gillespie's sextet in 1951, followed by the "Rose of Tangier"/"Ground Round" single recorded under his own name at Fortune Records in Detroit. While in college, Burrell founded the New World Music Society collective with fellow Detroit musicians Pepper Adams, Donald Byrd, Elvin Jones, and Yusef Lateef.

Career

Burrell toured with Oscar Peterson after graduating in 1955 and then moved to New York City in 1956 with pianist Tommy Flanagan. Within months, Burrell had recorded his first album as leader for Blue Note and both he and Flanagan were sought after as sidemen and studio musicians, performing with singers Tony Bennett and Lena Horne and recording with Billie Holiday, Jimmy Smith, Gene Ammons, and Kenny Dorham, among 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.
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 guitar player," 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.

Awards and honors

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.
Burrell was a Grammy Salute To Jazz Honoree in 2010. The Grammy website states that between "...1956 and 2006, Mr. Burrell has excelled as a leader, co-leader and sideman releasing recordings with stellar musicians in the world of jazz."

Personal life

Early on in his career, Kenny Burrell's first wife was Dolores with whom he had two daughters., Discogs.com. Mention song "Loie" was dedicated to his wife Dolores.

Discography

As leader

  • Introducing Kenny Burrell
  • Kenny Burrell
  • All Night Long
  • All Day Long
  • Earthy
  • Kenny Burrell
  • 2 Guitars with Jimmy Raney
  • Blue Lights Vol. 1
  • On View at the Five Spot Cafe with Art Blakey
  • A Night at the Vanguard
  • Weaver of Dreams
  • Blue Lights Vol. 2
  • Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane
  • Blue Bash! with Jimmy Smith
  • Bluesy Burrell
  • Lotsa Bossa Nova!
  • Midnight Blue
  • Crash!
  • Soul Call
  • Guitar Soul with Bill Jennings & Tiny Grimes
  • Guitar Forms
  • The Tender Gender
  • Have Yourself a Soulful Little Christmas
  • Man at Work – reissue of A Night at the Vanguard
  • Ode to 52nd Street
  • A Generation Ago Today
  • Blues – The Common Ground
  • Night Song
  • Asphalt Canyon Suite
  • Kenny Clarke Meets the Detroit Jazzmen
  • Guitar Genius in Japan with Attila Zoller, Jim Hall
  • God Bless the Child
  • Cool Cookin'
  • Round Midnight
  • Both Feet on the Ground
  • Up the Street, 'Round the Corner, Down the Block
  • Ellington Is Forever
  • Sky Street
  • Ellington Is Forever Volume Two
  • Tin Tin Deo
  • Monday Stroll
  • Handcrafted
  • Stormy Monday
  • When Lights Are Low
  • Freedom
  • K. B. Blues
  • Swingin
  • Live at the Village Vanguard
  • Moon and Sand
  • Heritage
  • Kenny Burrell in New York
  • Listen to the Dawn
  • Bluesin' Around
  • Groovin' High
  • A la Carte
  • Togethering with Grover Washington Jr.
  • Generation
  • Pieces of Blue and the Blues
  • Guiding Spirit
  • Sunup to Sundown
  • Ellington a la Carte
  • Midnight at the Village Vanguard
  • No Problem with Ray Bryant
  • Lotus Blossom
  • Then Along Came Kenny
  • Live at the Blue Note
  • Laid Back
  • Love Is the Answer
  • Stormy Monday Blues
  • Lucky So and So
  • Blue Muse
  • 75th Birthday Bash Live!
  • Prime: Live at the Downtown Room
  • Be Yourself
  • Tenderly
  • Special Requests and Other Favorites: Live at Catalina's
  • The Road to Love
  • ''Unlimited 1: Live at Catalina's''

    As sideman

With Gene Ammons
  • Funky
  • Jammin' in Hi Fi with Gene Ammons
  • Bad! Bossa Nova
With Chet Baker
With Aaron Bell
With Andy and the Bey Sisters
  • Andy and the Bey Sisters
  • Round Midnight
With Ray Brown
With Donald Byrd
  • Motor City Scene
  • A New Perspective
  • Up with Donald Byrd
With Betty Carter
  • Round Midnight
  • Inside Betty Carter
With Paul Chambers
  • Bass on Top
  • Whims of Chambers
With Chris Connor
  • Chris in Person
  • Sings Ballads of the Sad Cafe
With Blossom Dearie
With Tommy Flanagan
  • The Cats
  • Beyond the Blue Bird
With Frank Foster
  • No 'Count
  • All Day Long
With Aretha Franklin
  • Yeah!!!
  • Soul '69
With Red Garland
  • Red Garland Revisited!
  • Stepping Out
  • So Long Blues
With Stan Getz
With Coleman Hawkins
  • Soul
  • The Hawk Relaxes
With Milt Jackson
  • Bags & Flutes
  • Bean Bags with Coleman Hawkins
  • Vibrations
With Illinois Jacquet
  • Illinois Jacquet
  • The Message
  • Desert Winds
With Thad Jones
  • Detroit – New York Junction
  • After Hours
With Johnny Hodges
With Shirley Horn
  • Loads of Love
  • Travelin' Light
With Etta Jones
  • Hollar!
  • Love Shout
  • Etta Jones Sings
With Hank Jones
  • Porgy and Bess
  • Here's Love
  • Ain't Misbehavin
With Quincy Jones
  • The Birth of a Band!
  • Plays Hip Hits
With Wynton Kelly
  • Wynton Kelly
  • Comin' in the Back Door
  • It's All Right!
  • Whisper Not
With Jack McDuff
  • Screamin
  • Somethin' Slick!
  • Steppin' Out
  • Plays for Beautiful People
With Gary McFarland
  • The Jazz Version of "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying"
  • Soft Samba
  • The In Sound
With Dave Pike
With Freddie Roach
  • Down to Earth
  • Mo' Greens Please
With Jimmy Smith
  • House Party
  • The Sermon!
  • Home Cookin
  • Midnight Special
  • Back at the Chicken Shack
  • Any Number Can Win
  • Softly as a Summer Breeze
  • The Cat
  • Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
  • Christmas '64
  • Monster
  • Organ Grinder Swing
  • Got My Mojo Workin'
  • Hoochie Coochie Man
  • Confirmation
  • Second Coming
  • Keep On Comin
  • Go for Whatcha Know
  • Fourmost – live rec. 1990
  • Standards – rec. 1957–1959
  • Six Views of the Blues
  • Fourmost Return
With Sylvia Syms
  • The Fabulous Sylvia Syms
  • Sylvia Is!
With Cal Tjader
  • Warm Wave
  • Soul Sauce
With Stanley Turrentine
  • Hustlin
  • Joyride
  • The Look of Love
  • Always Something There
  • The Sugar Man
  • Jubilee Shout!!!
With Frank Wess
  • North, South, East....Wess
  • Opus in Swing
  • Jazz for Playboys
With Ernie Wilkins
  • The Big New Band of the 60's
  • Screaming Mothers
With Joe Williams
  • Me and the Blues
  • That Holiday Feelin
With Kai Winding
  • Soul Surfin
  • Rainy Day
  • More Brass
With Jimmy Witherspoon
With Leo Wright
  • Suddenly the Blues
  • Soul Talk
With others