Kenny Burrell - Moten Swing & Blue Muse

Kenny Burrell

Moten Swing (Euphoria)
Blue Muse (Concord Jazz)

When he was growing up in Detroit during World War II, Kenny Burrell first wanted to play the saxophone, but his family couldn't afford one. He had fooled around on his older brother's guitar, so he settled for that less expensive instrument instead. His interest in saxophonists influenced his horn-like playing line. As well as guitarists Charlie Christian, Oscar Moore and T-Bone Walker, he studied saxophonists such as Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young and Herschel Evans. He started out mainly self taught, but did study music theory and composition in college and later had private jazz and classical guitar lessons. He first recorded at the age of nineteen in 1951 with Dizzy Gillespie as a substitute for an ill saxophonist and has recorded dozens of solo albums since then.

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Kenny Burrell - Moten Swing! — The Columbia Records Instrumental Recordings 1961-62 (Euphoria) Jul 23, 2003

In 1960, Kenny Burrell was signed to Columbia Records. His first album for Columbia, a quintet album called Weaver of Dreams, featured Burrell's vocals as well as guitar playing and didn't attract much notice upon its release. He planned to follow it up with an instrumental album and over the course six months starting in the fall of 1961, Burrell recorded four swinging instrumental sessions with three groups of musicians. The sessions ended up staying in the can for over twenty years—nine tracks were released in 1983 on the LP "Bluesin' Around" and the complete sessions (thirteen tunes plus five alternate takes) have been released by Euphoria in 2002 as Moten Swing (part of their interesting set of jazz guitar reissues).

The first two of these instrumental sessions was recorded in November 1961 with a quintet of Illinois Jacquet on tenor, Hank Jones on piano, Major Holley on bass and either Osie Johnson or Jimmy Crawford on drums. The swing-era saxophonist Jacquet first met Burrell in Detroit in the late 1940s.

Next, there's an interesting March 1962 session retains Hank Jones and includes big band and session trombonist Eddie Bert with bassist George Duvivier and drummer Louis Hayes. The pairing of trombone and guitar create an unusual sound combination.

Finally, there's an April, 1962 quartet session with organist Jack McDuff that includes Leo Wright on alto and Joe Dukes on drums that complements his classic guitar/organ dates with Jimmy Smith (Back at the Chicken Shack and Midnight Special).

The album, with a length of 78 minutes, intersperses tunes from the different sessions, which give the album a very nice flow. Altogether there are seven Burrell originals, six standards plus five alternate takes. Throughout Moten Swing, Burrell plays some swinging guitar, primarily single line runs with includes chords and a very nice tone.

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Kenny Burrell - Blue Muse (Concord Jazz) July 8

Forty years after recording the sessions for Moten Swing, guitarist Kenny Burrell is still performing and recording and has a new CD out on Concord Jazz, Blue Muse.

In his liner notes for the CD, Burrell mentions that he's programmed it as he would a live club gig—he varies the tempos and types of tunes to keep up the listener's interest.

Highlights include the ballad "My Friend Ray," which is a tribute to the recently departed bassist Ray Brown who was a friend of both Burrell and the composer, Luis Rivera. There's a beautiful version of Bill Evans's wonderful composition "Blue in Green" that starts with solo guitar, then he has a short duet with pianist Tom Ranier before they're joined by brushed drums, flute, and bowed bass. "3/4 of the House" written by Burrell's sax & flute player Herman Riley, has a stately groove, and there's some funky trading fours between tenor sax and guitar.

Burrell has recently started singing again and his new album includes vocals on four tracks. A piano and vocal version of Duke Ellington's "Solitude" is my favorite of the four. The main negative on the album is the use of overly sweet strings on two tunes. But, Burrell's guitar playing is always tasteful and swinging, and there's good group interplay. Overall, this is an enjoyable album.

— ALAN LANKIN

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last update 16 November 2003

Kenny Burrell Moten Swing (Euphoria) Blue Muse (Concord Jazz)

Kenny Burrell

Moten Swing (Euphoria)
Blue Muse (Concord Jazz)