Kenny Burrell – Kenny Burrell

Introducing Kenny Burrell is the debut album by American jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell, recorded in 1956 and released on the Blue Note label. In 2000, it was released on the 2 CD-set Introducing Kenny Burrell: The First Blue Note Sessions along with Kenny Burrell Volume 2, plus bonus tracks.

Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist 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…

In the world of jazz guitar, few players can measure up to the skill, stature and sheer influence that Kenny Burrell brought to the genre. With his trademark straightforward playing that fused jazz and blues beautifully, this pioneer featured on hundreds of albums, both as leader of his own groups and as a much in-demand sideman for others. Often hailed as the greatest guitarist in the world - he was the personal favourite of the legendary B.B. King - Burrell's playing has gone on to permanently change the way in which the instrument is approached and, in so doing, has influenced generation after generation of likeminded musicians. This four disc collection, containing eight fully remastered albums, provides the perfect introduction to one of the finest and most innovative musicians still active today.

The second of two CD reissues of a jam session led by guitarist Kenny Burrell features the talented if forgotten trumpeter Louis Smith, both Junior Cook and Tina Brooks on tenors, pianist Bobby Timmons (Duke Jordan was on the first volume), bassist Sam Jones and drummer Art Blakey. The all-star group performs two standards ("Caravan" and the guitarist's feature on "Autumn in New York"), Sam Jones's "Chuckin'" and Burrell's "Rock Salt." This is excellent music that easily fits into the bop mainstream of the period.

The jazz jam session has always been reserved for in-concert or club performances. Where these 1956-1957 recordings from guitarist Kenny Burrell and his all-star septet and sextet differ is that they were made in the confines of Rudy Van Gelder's recording studio, where the musicians were able to stretch out on two of the most memorable modern long-distance jam sessions of all time - All Night Long and All Day Long. Initially available as individual LPs and then together as a two-fer, this is a welcome reissue, showcasing perhaps the finest collective groups the Detroiter ever fronted. The extended aforementioned title tracks, with ample solo room for these individualists, were the best friends of after-hours radio DJs, and in the case of All Day, very danceable…

Kenny Burrell's guitaristry is well-documented in his years with Oscar Peterson and on his first dates as a leader on the Blue Note label, but God Bless the Child, his only date for CTI in 1971, is an under-heard masterpiece in his catalog. Burrell's band for the set includes bassist Ron Carter, percussionist Ray Barretto, Richard Wyands on piano, flutist Hubert Laws, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, and drummer Billy Cobham. CTI's house arranger, Don Sebesky, assembled and conducted the strings in a manner that stands strangely and beautifully apart from his other work on the label. Sebesky understood Burrell's understated approach to playing guitar.

Soul Call is yet another great Burrell record. On "Here's That Rainy Day," he epitomizes all that is cool in jazz guitar, framing his lush chord-melody statement using a minimum of voicings, and burning up the changes without ever overplaying, sacrificing clarity, or compromising his tone, all while infusing an achingly beautiful standard with a graceful blues tinge. He then repeats this achievement in a harder-swinging vein on "Lucky So and So" and on the ballad "A Sleepin' Bee. "Mark One" is an uptempo cooker by pianist Will Davis; Burrell himself contributes two blues, the late-night, conga-fueled slink of the title cut and the relentlessly jumping "Kenny's Theme."

The music on the set features guitarist Kenny Burrell in quartet/quintets with either tenor great Illinois Jacquet, trombonist Eddie Bert or altoist Leo Wright and either pianist Hank Jones or organist Jack McDuff. It is odd that Columbia did not issue any of the straightahead music at the time, considering McDuff's popularity, for the results, even with a few dated numbers such as "Mambo Twist," are excellent. After a short while, this LP went out of print and it took many years to appear on CD.