Burrell, Kenny (actually, Kenneth Earl)

Burrell, Kenny (actually, Kenneth Earl), jazz guitarist; b. Detroit, July 31, 1931. Encouraged and coached by his older brother, Billy, Kenny began playing guitar at 12; he played both bass and guitar in the high school band. Soon he was freelancing with Tommy Flanagan, Yusef Lateef, Pepper Adams, Elvin Jones, and others. He made his recording debut with Dizzy Gillespie’s sextet (1951). Burrell completed his formal training at Wayne State Univ. (B.A., Music Composition and Theory). Upon his graduation in 1955, he toured with Oscar Peterson, then moved to N.Y. where he played with Benny Goodman; he also has led his own combos since 1951. In 1960, he was in a play in N.Y. called The Long Dream with Golson, Roach, Hank Jones, Dizzy Reece, and Joya Sherill. He soon became internationally in demand for club, concert, and studio work, as well as college seminars and festivals. Burrell recorded on Verve with Astrud Gilberto, Gil Evans, Stan Getz, and others; one of his most popular albums was Guitar Forms (1964), arranged by Evans. He has made over 70 albums as a leader and played on more than 200 as a sideman, with both jazz artists and popular singers such as Tony Bennett, James Brown, and Sammy Davis Jr. He played banjo with Mercer Ellington. Burrell began leading seminars at colleges in the early 1970s, and has taught courses on Duke Ellington’s music at various campuses in Los Angeles. He was in residence at William Paterson Coll. in 1995-96. He divides his time between playing and recording as director of USC’s Jazz Studies Department.

Discography

For Charlie Christian and Benny Goodman (1956); Introducing Kenny Burrell (1956); Monday Stroll (1956); All Day Long (1957); Blue Moods (1957); Cats (1957); Kenny Burrell Vol. 2 (1957); Blue Lights, Vols. 1, 2 (1958); Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane (1958); Night at the Vanguard (1959); Bluesy Burrell (1962); Guitar Forms (1964); Man at Work (1966); Blues: the Common Ground (1967); Ode to 52nd Street (1967); Ellington Is Forever, Vols. 1, 2 (1975); Live at the Village Vanguard (1978); For Duke (1981); Generation (1986); Midnight at the Village Vanguard (1995). jazz heritage all-stars live at the blue note:Jazzmen: Detroit (1956).

—Lewis Porter