KENNY BURRELL
Prestige Profiles, Vol. 7
For many folks, Kenny Burrell is the epitome
of the jazz guitarist, and his work is judged to be heavily
influential on later guitarists—as influential as
Wes Montgomery, who some consider to be the modern model
for jazz guitar. But Montgomery is widely cited as declaring
that Burrell influenced him, and there’s no denying
the light, sophisticated approach that Burrell brings to
the instrument. Burrell spent quite a while on Prestige—from
1956 to 1963, and the material here covers that territory
ably, with selections from a number of Burrell releases:
2 Guitars, Bluesy Burrell, Kenny Burrell, Brother Jack
McDuff/Somethin’ Slick, Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane,
All Night Long, The Cats, All Day Long.
The opening “Ill Close My Eyes”
shows an undistilled, straightforward Burrell doing what
he does best. He shows his ability to swing and get grittier
on “Montono Blues,” a great track that also
features Coleman Hawkins taking a beautiful blues solo,
the piano of Tommy Flanagan, and a bass solo by Major Holley
on which he sings along with his bowing. The sumptuous reading
of “All of You” comes from his 1957 Kenny
Burrell album, which, while a short program at less
than forty minutes, certainly is one fine album. Cecil Payne
contributes some gruff baritone sax that contrasts nicely
with Burrell’s guitar, though this track does not
feature Payne.
The Coltrane collaboration does not disappoint.
It’s basically a jam session, but the crew aboard
is stellar (Coltrane, Burrell, Flanagan, Paul Chambers,
Jimmy Cobb), with Jimmy Cobb again demonstrating that he
is one of the best ‘under the radar’ drummers
of the period. Will you hear anything you haven’t
heard from either musician before? No. But it’s still
a solid session. One reason for this is that most of the
Prestige sessions featured didn’t feature much original
material—it was mostly spontaneous jams (Prestige
founder Bob Weinstock didn’t want too much rehearsal)
on songs the musicians already knew. But there are exceptions:
Burrell’s own “Montono Blues” and Hank
Mobley’s ‘Night in Tunisia’-based composition
“Boo-Lu,” which features Donald Byrd, Mobley,
Jerome Richardson on flute, Mal Waldron on piano, Doug Watkins
on bass, and Arthur Taylor on drums. Richardson, Burrell,
and Mobley all turn in inspired solos on this one, and it’s
a great party. Waldron’s “Minor Mishap”,
with Coltrane and trumpeter Idress Sulleman also provides
a nice opportunity for some good solos, as does Burrell’s
blues “All Day Long,” which closes out the set.
The bonus disc features a variety of Prestige
sessions featuring guitarists, including George Benson,
Tal Farlow, Pat Martino, and Rusty Bryant. Coltrane, who
could really turn in a blues jam when the mood took him,
is in pretty good form here, and so is Byrd.
