Kenny Burrell ‎– Blue Lights, Volume 1

Kenneth Earl "Kenny" Burrell, born on July 31, 1931, is an American jazz guitarist known for his collaborations with Jimmy Smith, most prominently the 1965 Billboard Top Twenty hit album “Organ Grinder Swing”. He has stated jazz guitarists Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt, blues musicians T-Bone Walker and Muddy Waters as his influences.

 “This live date broken into two volumes has never sounded better. Upon its original release, critics and fans alike marveled at the recording quality and the moderate amount of audience noise that can distract from crucial moments of music. Recorded just two years after he moved to New York, leader Burrell decided to eschew a small ensemble and super-size the bandstand. During this period, between contributions for Blue Note and Prestige, he may have been the most recorded name guitarist in jazz and definitely had his pick of East Coast players to choose from. His personnel choices for this show were inspired. After asking label-mate Louis Smith to bring his trumpet, he made an interesting choice in going with twin tenors in Tina Brooks and Junior Cook. Duke Jordan and Bobby Timmons split time behind the piano for the two different sets, while Sam Jones and Art Blakey handled bass and drums, respectively, straight through.

Mastered and cut from the original two-track master tapes using all-tube tape electronics and cutting system, allowing Bernie Grundman to extract every nuance from the tapes which adds to the magic of this Rudy Van Gelder recording.” – Acoustic Sounds

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