For those unaware, Kenny Burrell is an American modern jazz guitarist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in 1931 and still alive at the age of 94 as these notes are being written. Making his recording debut in 1951, he became a valued and versatile sideman, recording and performing prolifically for over 65 years through to 2015, in a huge variety of recording settings.

He also recorded and performed leading his own bands, and quite early in his career recorded a number of sessions under his own name for Alfred Lion’s Blue Note label, from which came his first albums, all taking advantage of the opportunity for extended performances on the new LP format.

This 21-track 2-CD set entitled Early Years: Blue Note Sessions 1956-58 (out now via Acrobat Records) comprises titles from those sessions for Blue Note during his early years as a bandleader and features all the titles from the Blue Note albums Introducing Kenny Burrell, Kenny Burrell and Blue Lights Vol. 1 and most of the titles from the album Blue Lights Vol. 2.

Musicians in his groups include tenor saxophonist Frank Foster, pianists Tommy Flanagan, Duke Jordan and Bobby Timmons, bassists Oscar Pettiford, Paul Chambers and Sam Jones, drummers Shadow Wilson, Kenny Clarke and Art Blakey, trumpeter Louis Smith, tenor saxophonists Frank Foster, Junior Cook and Tina Brooks and percussionist Candido Camero.

He is a stylish and fluent improviser and these early titles are an enjoyable showcase for his distinctive approach to jazz guitar. Indeed, being renowned as one of the leading exponents of straight-ahead jazz guitar, Kenny Burrell is a highly influential artist whose understated and melodic style, grounded in bebop and blues, made him in an in-demand sideman from the mid-’50s onward and a standard by which many jazz guitarists gauge themselves to this day.

He grew up in a musical family in which his mother played piano and sang in the Second Baptist Church choir and his father favored the banjo and ukulele. Burrell began playing guitar at age 12 and quickly fell under the influence of such artists as Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt, Oscar Moore, T-Bone Walker, and Muddy Waters. Surrounded by the vibrant jazz and blues scene of Detroit, Burrell began to play gigs around town and counted among his friends and bandmates pianist Tommy Flanagan, saxophonists Pepper Adams and Yusef Lateef, drummer Elvin Jones, and others.

Like all master jazz musicians, Burrell’s personality starts with his tone. Instantly recognizable, it’s a singing sound, a seductive purr, with a faint halo of reverb and a refined attack that’s crisp upfront but finishes as warm and mellow as cognac. Many guitarists boast flashier technique and fierier personalities.

Burrell plays a different game. On Midnight Blue he forges a group sound defined by his soulful lyricism, which spreads among his bandmates and reaches out to listeners, inviting them inside the tent. Making music is an act of social engagement for Burrell. “Kenny always seemed to invoke community to me,” said guitarist Pat Metheny. “It was less about being the soloist and more about being in the music, in the band, in the pocket.”

Disc 1:
1. Phinupi 2. Now See How You Are 3. How About You 4. Cheeta 5. Moten Swing 6. Mexico City 7. Get Happy 8. Fugue ’N’ Blues 9. Takeela 10. Delilah 11. Blues For Skeeter 12. This Time The Dream’s On Me 13. Rhythmorama

Disc 2:
1. Weaver Of Dreams 2. But Not For Me 3. Scotch Blues 4. Yes Baby 5. The Man I Love 6. Autumn In New York 7. Caravan 8. Chuckin’ 9. Rock Salt

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