Kenneth Earl "Kenny" Burrell
(born July 31 1931) [1] is an American jazz guitarist. His playing is grounded in bebop and blues; he has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz musicians.
|
KENNY BURRELL TICKETS
|
Biography
Burrell was born in
Detroit, Michigan to a musical family and began playing guitar at the age of 12. His influences as a guitar player include
Charlie Christian,
Django Reinhardt, and
Wes Montgomery. While a student at
Wayne State University, he made his debut recording as a member of
Dizzy Gillespie's sextet in 1951. He toured with
Oscar Peterson after graduating in 1955 and then moved to
New York City in 1956.
A consummate
sideman, Burrell recorded with a wide range of prominent musicians. He also led his own groups since 1951 and recorded many well received albums.
In the 1970s he began leading seminars about music, particularly
Duke Ellington's. A highly popular performer, he has won several jazz polls in
Japan and the
United Kingdom as well as the United States.
He has recorded about 40
LPs, including
Midnight Blue
(1963),
Blue Lights
,
Guitar Forms
,
Sunup To Sundown
(1990),
Soft Winds
(1993),
Then Along Came Kenny
(1993), and
Lotus Blossom
(1995).
On Saturday,
December 2 2006, Burrell recorded his 99th album, live at UCLA's Royce Hall. As of 2007, Burrell serves as Director of Jazz Studies at
UCLA. In fact, one of Burrell's courses which he teaches is "Ellingtonia", examining the life and accomplishments of Duke Ellington. This program was the first university-level course in the country focusing on the artist.
Discography
As leader
- Introducing Kenny Burrell
(1956), Blue Note
- All Day Long
(1957), Prestige
- Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane
(1958), Prestige
- Blue Lights
(1958), Blue Note
- On View At The Five Spot Cafe
(1959), Blue Note
- Bluesy Burrell
(1962), Moodsville
- Midnight Blue
(1963), Blue Note
- Guitar Forms
(1964), Verve
- Soul Call
(1964), Prestige Records [2]
- Have Yourself a Soulful Little Christmas
(1967), Cadet
- God Bless the Child
(1971), CTI
- ‘Round Midnight
(1972), Fantasy
- Ellington Is Forever
(1975-77), Fantasy
- 12-15-78
(1999), 32 Jazz
- Lucky So and So
(2001), Concord Jazz
As sideman
With
Ike Quebec
With
Jimmy Smith
References
- Allmusic Biography
- Prestige Records catalog