If you need the easiest album to turn the arena that jazz and the blues are a lot more than “kissing cousins,” that is it. When BB King mentioned, “Jazz is the large brother of the blues. If a man’s enjoying blues, he’s in highschool. When he begins enjoying jazz it’s like occurring to university,” it’s tempting to assume he would possibly have had Kenny Burrell’s Midnight Blue in thoughts.

Concentrate to Midnight Blue at this time.

Recorded on January 8, 1963, for Blue Be aware Information at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, this album is a attractiveness. From the first actual monitor, it’s transparent why this album was once so well-liked when it was once launched and has remained so ever since. It oozes early Nineteen Sixties sophistication, just like the soundtrack to a film about love long gone bitter in Big apple’s Higher West Facet. Reid Miles‘ album quilt is perfection, summing up the temper of this album with simply best possible typography.

“I’ve all the time had a love for the blues. In my earliest days in Detroit, I labored with teams that concentrated an excellent deal at the blues. I sought after to get a bunch in combination for this consultation that may really feel the blues simply the way in which I do.” Kenny Burrell, 1963

It’s been referred to as “as sublime a file because the label ever launched,” and it’s not possible to disagree. From the hole of “Chittlins Con Carne,” highlighting Stanley Turrentine’s far away horn and Burrell’s answering guitar it’s moodiness personified. Except “Mule,” composed via bassist Primary Holley, Jr. and the Andy Razaf and Don Redman usual, “Gee Child Ain’t I Just right to You,” the entire tunes are Burrell originals. The maximum private and intimate is his solo guitar rendition of “Soul Lament.” Turrentine performs sweetly all the way through, by no means dominating, all the time complementing. This was once Holley and drummer Invoice English’s first, and as regards to best, date for Blue Be aware.

Surprisingly, Burrell made his first look for Blue Be aware as a pacesetter at the accurately titled Introducing Kenny Burrell in 1956 – strangely, as a result of maximum musicians performed the function of a sideman prior to getting the chance to guide their very own consultation. At the moment he was once nonetheless best 24 years previous, having made his recording debut with Dizzy Gillespie’s band as an adolescent. Prior to his Blue Be aware debut, he toured with Oscar Peterson’s trio – such was once his ability – and between that consultation and this one, he recorded fifteen albums, six of which have been for Blue Be aware.

Launched in early Would possibly 1963, Midnight Blue was once singled out at the Billboard Jazz chart on Would possibly 11 beneath the “new motion LPs” list, it failed to bother the mainstream chart, as Kenny did a couple of months later with Jimmy Smith at the album Blue Bash for Verve.

Midnight Blue can also be purchased right here.

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