Kenny Burrell

Kenneth Earl "Kenny" Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an African-American jazz guitarist. His playing is grounded in bebop and blues; he has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz musicians.

Biography
Burrell was born in Detroit, Michigan, to a musical family and began playing guitar at the age of 12. Guitarists who influenced him 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, following which he recorded the "Ground Round" single at Fortune Records in Detroit. He toured with Oscar Peterson after graduating in 1955 and then moved to New York City in 1956.

A consummate sideman, Burrell has recorded with a wide range of prominent musicians. He has 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. Although the two never collaborated directly, Ellington called Burrell his "favorite guitarist," and Burrell has recorded a number of tributes to and interpretations of Ellington's works.

A highly popular performer, Burrell has won several jazz polls in Japan and the United Kingdom as well as in the United States. He has recorded about 106 albums, including Midnight Blue (1963), Blue Lights, Guitar Forms, Sunup To Sundown (1990), Soft Winds (1993), Then Along Came Kenny (1993), and Lotus Blossom (1995).

As of 1996, Burrell has served as Director of Jazz Studies at UCLA, mentoring such notable alumni as Gretchen Parlato and Kalil Wilson. Burrell teaches a course entitled "Ellingtonia", examining the life and accomplishments of Duke Ellington.

As leader

 * Introducing Kenny Burrell (Blue Note, 1956)
 * Kenny Burrell Volume 2 (Blue Note, 1956)
 * Swingin' (Blue Note, 1956)
 * All Night Long (Prestige, 1956)
 * All Day Long (Prestige, 1957)
 * Earthy (Prestige, 1957)
 * Kenny Burrell (Prestige, 1957)
 * 2 Guitars (Prestige, 1957) - with Jimmy Raney
 * K. B. Blues (Blue Note, 1957)
 * Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane (Prestige, 1958) - with John Coltrane
 * Blue Lights Volume 1 (Blue Note, 1958)
 * Blue Lights Volume 2 (Blue Note, 1958)
 * On View at the Five Spot Cafe (Blue Note, 1959)
 * A Night at the Vanguard (Argo, 1959)
 * Weaver of Dreams (Columbia, 1960-61)
 * Bluesin' Around (Columbia, 1961-62 [1983])
 * Bluesy Burrell (Moodsville, 1962)
 * Midnight Blue (Blue Note, 1963)
 * Crash! (Prestige, 1963) - with Jack McDuff
 * Lotsa Bossa Nova! (Kapp, 1963)
 * Blue Bash! (Verve, 1963) - with Jimmy Smith
 * Travelin' Light (Prestige, 1964) - with Shirley Scott
 * Soul Call (Prestige, 1964)
 * Freedom (Blue Note, 1963-64 [1980])
 * Guitar Forms (Verve, 1965)
 * The Tender Gender (Cadet, 1966)
 * Have Yourself a Soulful Little Christmas (Cadet, 1966)
 * A Generation Ago Today (Verve, 1966-67)
 * Ode to 52nd Street (Cadet, 1967)
 * Blues - The Common Ground (Verve, 1967-68)
 * Night Song (Verve, 1968-69)
 * Asphalt Canyon Suite (Verve, 1969)
 * God Bless the Child (CTI, 1971)
 * 'Round Midnight (Fantasy, 1972)
 * Both Feet on the Ground (Fantasy, 1973)
 * Up the Street, 'Round the Corner, Down the Block (Fantasy, 1974)
 * Stormy Monday (Fantasy, 1974 [1978])
 * Sky Street (Fantasy, 1974)
 * Ellington Is Forever (Fantasy, 1975)
 * Ellington Is Forever Volume Two (Fantasy, 1975 [1977])
 * Tin Tin Deo (Concord, 1977)
 * Handcrafted (Muse, 1978)
 * When Lights Are Low (Concord, 1978)
 * Live at the Village Vanguard (Muse, 1978)
 * In New York (Muse, 1978)
 * Moon and Sand (Concord, 1979)
 * Heretige (Audio Source/Voss, 1980)
 * Listen to the Dawn (Muse, 1980)
 * Groovin'High (Muse, 1981)
 * Ellington à la Carte (Muse, 1983)
 * À la Carte (Muse, 1983)
 * Togethering (Blue Note, 1985) - with Grover Washington, Jr.
 * Generation (Blue Note, 1986)
 * Pieces of Blue and the Blues (Blue Note, 1986 [1988])
 * Guiding Spirit (Contemporary, 1989)
 * Sunup to Sundown (Contemporary, 1991)
 * Then Along Came Kenny (Evidence, 1993)
 * Lotus Blossom (Concord, 1995)
 * Love Is the Answer, featuring The Boys Choir of Harlem (Concord Concerto, 1998)
 * Lucky So and So (Concord Jazz, 2001)
 * Blue Muse (Concord Jazz, 2003)
 * 75th Birthday Bash Live! (Blue Note, 2007)
 * Be Yourself: Live at Dizzy's (Highnote, 2010)
 * Tenderly (Highnote, 2011)

Compilations

 * 12-15-78 (32 Jazz, 1999) - compiles Live at the Village Vanguard and In New York
 * Introducing Kenny Burrell: The First Blue Note Sessions (Blue Note, 2000) - compiles Introducing Kenny Burrell, Kenny Burrell Volume 2 and K. B. Blues

As sideman
With Gene Ammons With Paul Chambers With Bill Evans With Red Garland With Terry Gibbs With Dizzy Gillespie With Coleman Hawkins With Eddie Harris With Johnny Hartman With Jimmy Heath With Milt Jackson With Willis Jackson With Illinois Jacquet With John Jenkins With Etta Jones With Thad Jones With Wynton Kelly With Yusef Lateef With Hubert Laws With Gildo Mahones With Jack McDuff With The Prestige All Stars With Ike Quebec With Freddie Roach With Sonny Rollins With Charlie Rouse With Lalo Schifrin With Jimmy Smith With Stanley Turrentine With Randy Weston With Kai Winding With Jimmy Witherspoon
 * Jazzmen of Detroit with Tommy Flanagan, Pepper Adams, Paul Chambers, Kenny Clarke (1956; Savoy Records)
 * Funky (Prestige, 1956)
 * Jammin' in Hi Fi with Gene Ammons (Prestige, 1957)
 * Bad! Bossa Nova (Prestige, 1962)
 * Whims of Chambers (1956)
 * Bass on Top (1957)
 * Quintessence (Fantasy, 1976)
 * Red Garland Revisited! (Prestige, 1957 [1969])
 * Take It from Me (Impulse!, 1964)
 * Dee Gee Days: The Savoy Sessions (Savoy, 1951-52 [1976])
 * Soul (Prestige, 1958)
 * The Hawk Relaxes (Moodsville, 1961)
 * Cool Sax from Hollywood to Broadway (Columbia, 1964)
 * I Just Dropped by to Say Hello (Impulse!, 1964)
 * On the Trail (Riverside, 1964)
 * Bags & Flutes (Atlantic, 1957)
 * Bean Bags with Coleman Hawkins (Atlantic, 1958)
 * Vibrations (Atlantic, 1960–61)
 * Much in Common with Ray Brown (Verve, 1964)
 * Bossa Nova Plus (Prestige, 1962)
 * The Message (Argo, 1963)
 * Desert Winds (Argo, 1964)
 * John Jenkins with Kenny Burrell (Blue Note, 1957)
 * Love Shout (Prestige, 1962)
 * Detroit-New York Junction (Blue Note, 1956)
 * After Hours (Prestige, 1957)
 * Piano (Riverside, 1958)
 * Comin' in the Back Door (Verve, 1963)
 * It's All Right! (Verve, 1964)
 * The Blue Yusef Lateef (Atlantic, 1968)
 * Laws' Cause (Atlantic, 1968)
 * I'm Shooting High (Prestige, 1963)
 * The Great Gildo (Prestige, 1964)
 * Screamin' (Prestige, 1962)
 * Somethin' Slick! (Prestige, 1963)
 * Steppin' Out (Prestige, 1961-66 [1969])
 * Interplay for 2 Trumpets and 2 Tenors (Prestige, 1957)
 * Soul Samba (Blue Note, 1962)
 * Down to Earth (Blue Note, 1962)
 * Mo' Greens Please (Blue Note, 1963)
 * Alfie (Impulse! 1966)
 * Bossa Nova Bacchanal (Blue Note, 1962)
 * Once a Thief and Other Themes (Verve, 1965)
 * House Party (Blue Note, 1957)
 * Softly as a Summer Breeze (Blue Note, 1958)
 * Home Cookin' (Blue Note, 1958–59)
 * Midnight Special (Blue Note, 1961)
 * Back at the Chicken Shack (Blue Note, 1963)
 * ''The Master (Blue Note, 1994)
 * Jubilee Shout!!! (Blue Note, 1962)
 * Hustlin' (Blue Note, 1964)
 * The Sugar Man (CTI, 1971)
 * Uhuru Afrika (Roulette, 1960)
 * More (Theme from Mondo Cane) (Verve, 1963)
 * Baby, Baby, Baby (Prestige, 1963)
 * Blue Spoon (Prestige, 1964)