Kenneth Earl Burrell was born on July 31, 1931. He is an American jazz guitarist, singer, and composer who has worked with many top jazz record companies, including Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. He worked closely with musician Jimmy Smith, and together they created the 1965 Billboard Top Twenty hit album Organ Grinder Swing for Verve Records. Burrell has mentioned that jazz guitarists Charlie Christian, Oscar Moore, and Django Reinhardt, as well as blues guitarists T-Bone Walker and Muddy Waters, have influenced his music.

Currently, Burrell is a professor and serves as the Director of Jazz Studies at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

Early life

Burrell was born in Detroit in 1931, the youngest of six siblings. Three of his oldest sisters died before reaching adulthood, and his father, who worked as an auto mechanic, passed away when Burrell was six years old. Both of his parents played musical instruments, and he started learning to play the guitar at age 12 after listening to recordings by Charlie Christian. During World War II, because there was a shortage of metal, he gave up the idea of becoming a saxophonist and purchased an acoustic guitar for $10. He became interested in jazz after hearing Oscar Moore play, but Django Reinhardt taught him that it was possible to develop a unique style on an instrument. Later, he studied music composition and theory with Louis Cabara and classical guitar with Joe Fava. While studying at Wayne State University, he made his first recording as part of Dizzy Gillespie’s group of six musicians in 1951. He also recorded a single called "Rose of Tangier"/"Ground Round" under his own name at Fortune Records in Detroit. While in college, Burrell created the New World Music Society with other Detroit musicians, including Pepper Adams, Donald Byrd, Elvin Jones, and Yusef Lateef.

Career

After graduating in 1955, Burrell traveled with pianist Oscar Peterson. In 1956, he moved to New York City with pianist Tommy Flanagan. Soon after, Burrell recorded his first album as a leader for Blue Note Records. Both Burrell and Flanagan became popular as supporting musicians and studio performers, working with singers Tony Bennett and Lena Horne. They also recorded with artists such as Billie Holiday, Jimmy Smith, Gene Ammons, and Kenny Dorham. From 1957 to 1959, Burrell took the place of Charlie Christian in Benny Goodman’s band. Since his debut in New York, Burrell has recorded many albums. Critics have highlighted his work on The Cats with John Coltrane in 1957, Midnight Blue with Stanley Turrentine in 1963, and Guitar Forms with arranger Gil Evans in 1965 as important achievements.

In 1978, Burrell started teaching a course at UCLA called "Ellingtonia," which focused on the life and work of Duke Ellington. Though they never worked together, Ellington called Burrell his "favorite guitar player." Burrell has also recorded several musical honors of Ellington’s compositions. Since 1996, Burrell has been the Director of Jazz Studies at UCLA, guiding students such as Gretchen Parlato and Kamasi Washington.

Awards and honors

Burrell wrote, arranged, and performed on the 1998 Grammy Award-winning album Dear Ella by Dee Dee Bridgewater. He received the 2004 Jazz Educator of the Year Award from Down Beat and was named a 2005 NEA Jazz Master. In 2010, Burrell was a Grammy Salute to Jazz Honoree. The Grammy website stated that from 1956 to 2006, Mr. Burrell performed excellently as a leader, co-leader, and sideman, releasing recordings with top musicians in the world of jazz.

Discography

Collaborations with Andy and the Bey Sisters

Collaborations with Illinois Jacquet

Collaborations with Stanley Turrentine

Collaborations with Jimmy Witherspoon