ENDEIT
Kenny Burrell
Photo: vernon.hyde, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Guitarists · b. 1931

Kenny Burrell

American jazz guitarist (born 1931)

Born
31 July 1931
Detroit
Country
United States
Active
1951–
Record labels
Columbia Records, Blue Note, Verve Records
Discography
73 albums

Biography

Kenny Burrell is a jazz musician who plays guitar. Kenny Burrell was born on 31 July 1931 in Detroit. The music is usually filed under jazz, blues and soul. Record labels: Columbia Records, Blue Note and Verve Records. The discography here lists 73 albums, from “Introducing Kenny Burrell” (1956) to “Merry Christmas, Baby” (2024). Honours include NEA Jazz Masters.

Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist, singer and composer 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. Burrell has cited jazz guitarists Charlie Christian, Oscar Moore, and Django Reinhardt as influences, along with blues guitarists T-Bone Walker and Muddy Waters. Burrell is a professor and Director of Jazz Studies at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Discography

Studio and live albums

Introducing Kenny Burrell 1956 · Blue Note Jazzmen: Detroit 1956 · London Savoy Records Kenny Burrell 1956 · Blue Note Opus in Swing 1956 · Savoy Records 2 Guitars 1957 · Prestige After Hours 1957 · Prestige All Day Long 1957 · Prestige All Night Long 1957 · Prestige Kenny Burrell 1957 · Prestige Blue Lights, Volume 1 1958 · Blue Note Blue Lights, Volume 2 1958 · Blue Note On View at the Five Spot Cafe 1959 · Live · Blue Note Weaver of Dreams 1961 · Columbia Blue Bash! 1963 · Verve Bluesey Burrell 1963 · Moodsville Crash! 1963 · Prestige Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane 1963 · New Jazz
Lotsa Bossa Nova! 1963
Midnight Blue 1963 · Blue Note Soul Call 1964 · Prestige Guitar Forms 1965 · Verve Guitar Soul 1965 · Status Records Have Yourself a Soulful Little Christmas 1966 · Cadet Records The Tender Gender 1966 · Cadet Records A Generation Ago Today 1967 · Verve Ode to 52nd Street 1967 · Cadet Records Blues: The Common Ground 1968 · Verve Night Song 1968 · Verve Asphalt Canyon Suite 1969 · Blue Note God Bless the Child 1971 · CTI ’Round Midnight 1972 · Fantasy Both Feet on the Ground 1973 · Fantasy Up The Street, 'Round The Corner, Down The Block 1974 · Fantasy Ellington Is Forever 1975 · Fantasy Recapitulation 1976 · Chess Ellington Is Forever, Volume 2 1977 · Fantasy Handcrafted 1978 · Muse Records Freedom 1979 · Blue Note K. B. Blues 1979 · Blue Note When Lights Are Low 1979 · Concord Jazz Heritage 1980 · AudioSource Live At The Village Vanguard 1980 · Live · Muse Records Moon and Sand 1980 · Concord Jazz Swingin' 1980 · Blue Note In New York 1981 · Live · Muse Records
Listen To The Dawn 1983
Groovin’ High 1984 · Muse Records
A La Carte 1985
Togethering 1985 · Blue Note Pieces of Blue and the Blues 1988 · Live · Blue Note Sunup to Sundown 1991 · Contemporary From Vanguard with Love 1994 · Live · Paddle Wheel Midnight at the Village Vanguard 1994 · Live · Evidence Music Tin Tin Deo 1994 · Concord Jazz Lotus Blossom 1995 · Concord Jazz Primal Blue 1995 · Hip Bop Essence Blue Lights, Volumes 1 & 2 1997 · Blue Note Collaboration 1998 · Orchard Records Lucky So And So 2001 · Concord Jazz Blue Muse 2003 · Concord Records Asphalt Canyon Suite 2004 · 55 RECORDS 75th Birthday Bash Live! 2007 · Live · Blue Note Essential Masters 2009 · Burning Fire Live At The Downtown Room 2009 · Live · HighNote Records Be Yourself: Live at Dizzy’s Club Coca‐Cola 2010 · Live · HighNote Records Tenderly 2011 · Live · High Note Special Requests (& Other Favorites) 2013 · Live · HighNote Records Special Requests (And Other Favorites) Live at Catalina's 2013 · Live · HighNote Records, Inc. The Road to Love 2015 · HighNote Records, Inc. Unlimited 1 2016 · Live · HighNote Records Merry Christmas, Baby 2024 · UMe Guitar Forms · Verve Live at the Village Vanguard · Live

Also plays on

Albums where Kenny Burrell is credited as a sideman

1956 Lady Sings the Blues — Billie Holiday guitar, electric guitar
1956 The Champ — Dizzy Gillespie guitar
1956 Detroit-New York Junction — Thad Jones guitar
1956 No Count — Frank Foster guitar
1956 North, South, East... Wess — Frank Wess, Frank Foster, Henry Coker, Benny Powell, Kenny Burrell, Eddie Jones, Kenny Clarke guitar
1956 Opus In Swing — Frank Wess guitar
1957 School Days — Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Jackson & Joe Carroll guitar
1957 Interplay for 2 Trumpets and 2 Tenors — Idrees Sulieman, Webster Young, John Coltrane & Bobby Jaspar with Mal Waldron, Kenny Burrell, Paul Chambers & Art Taylor guitar
1957 Jimmy Smith at the Organ, Volume 1 — Jimmy Smith guitar
1957 Bass on Top — Paul Chambers guitar
1957 Goin' to Kansas City Blues — Jimmy Witherspoon & Jay McShann guitar
1957 Funky — Gene Ammons guitar
1957 Jammin' in Hi Fi With Gene Ammons — Gene Ammons guitar
1957 John Jenkins with Kenny Burrell — John Jenkins with Kenny Burrell guitar
1958 Soul — Coleman Hawkins guitar
1958 Jimmy Smith at the Organ, Volume 2 — Jimmy Smith guitar
1958 House Party — Jimmy Smith guitar
1958 Winner’s Circle — Oscar Pettiford & The Winner’s Circle musicians guitar
1958 Midnight Oil — Jerome Richardson guitar
1959 The Birth of a Band — Quincy Jones guitar
1959 Last Recording — Billie Holiday with Ray Ellis and His Orchestra guitar
1959 Chet — Chet Baker guitar
1959 What a Diff'rence a Day Makes! — Dinah Washington guitar
1959 The Cats — Tommy Flanagan, John Coltrane, Kenny Burrell & Idrees Sulieman guitar
1959 Home Cookin’ — Jimmy Smith guitar
1959 The Sermon! — Jimmy Smith guitar
1959 Bags & Flutes — Milt Jackson with Frank Wess & Bobby Jaspar guitar
1959 Bean Bags — Milt Jackson guitar
1959 Sings Ballads of the Sad Cafe — Chris Connor guitar
1959 Chris in Person — Chris Connor guitar

Standards written by Kenny Burrell

TitleKeyFormGroove
Midnight Blue A♭ major ABBCDD · 48 Medium swing
Cheetah B♭ major AABA · 32 Up-tempo swing
Lyresto C major ABB · 24 Up-tempo swing

Awards

Historic 78 rpm records

  • Tin Tin Daeo Dizzy Gillespie · Milt Jackson · John Coltrane · Kenny Burrell ·… · 1951 archive.org ↗

Listen on Spotify

Frequently asked questions

What instrument does Kenny Burrell play?

Kenny Burrell is known for playing guitar.

When and where was Kenny Burrell born?

Kenny Burrell was born 31 July 1931 in Detroit.

What are Kenny Burrell's best-known albums?

Albums in our database include Introducing Kenny Burrell (1956), Jazzmen: Detroit (1956), Kenny Burrell (1956), Opus in Swing (1956) and 2 Guitars (1957).

External links

Data compiled from open sources; see the source links below. Spotted an error? Let us know.