Monday, January 23, 2017

Kenny Burrell "Unlimited 1"

Kenny Burrell, guitar & director of the Los Angeles Jazz Orchestra Unlimited
My goodness, I'm sure I have some of his juicy Blue Note and Prestige sides from back in '57 or '58. And that means that Kenny Burrell is still going strong after nearly sixty dedicated years in the jazz art. Wow! He continues to expand his horizons as shown in this recording where he plays, provides commentary, acts as Artistic Director and even takes a few vocal choruses! The Los Angeles Jazz Orchestra provides a stirring and exciting performance with brilliant solo work from a bevy of young players, most of whom are new names to me. The material they choose represents a perfect balance of jazz classics and a few new sounds as well. Burrell has also distinguished himself over the years as a composer, and "Be Yourself" is one of his very best lyrical works. Other highlights include "Stolen Moments", "Things Ain't What They Used To Be", a medley of Billy Strayhorn's "Passion Flower" and "Take The A Train", and Burrell's snappy original, "Fourth Dimension". On all these and more Kenny Burrell remains supreme, and his heavy duty big band pals swing mightily.

High Note; 2016; appx. 72 min.

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