JAZZ
This issue John Wheatcroft looks at one of the most respected guitarists of them all, the bluesy-jazz legend that is Kenny Burrell.
John Wheatcroft dissects the style of many people’s top jazz picker, the great Kenny Burrell.
If you can name any significant artist from the world of jazz, then the chances are that you’ll find them on Kenny Burrell’s resumé. This incredible ‘who’s who’ of jazz includes Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, Chet Baker, Tony Bennett, John Coltrane and dozens of others. Duke Ellington famously went on the record to state that Kenny was his favourite guitarist and the two worked together many times. Add to this Kenny’s portfolio as a bandleader, with way over 60 albums released under his own name it’s clear that this is a guitarist you cannot ignore. At 87 he continues to perform, record and educate, and long may he continue.
His influence outside the jazz world is similarly impressive with even Jimi Hendrix stating, “Kenny Burrell, that’s the sound I’m looking for”. BB King expressed a similar sentiment with, “Kenny Burrell is overall the greatest guitarist in the world”. Let’s not forget Burrell’s successful session career in pop, with a CV that includes Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and James Brown.
Kenny’s playing is beautifully articulate and soulful, with a healthy slice of the blues. You can hear the musical links in the chain from his two early influences, Charlie Christian and Oscar Moore, although Burrell expands upon this by adding bebop flourishes and an almost pianistic harmonic awareness. His sound is both warm and clear, which perfectly complements the musicality of his phrasing. In a word, he’s class.
There are seven examples this month, and naturally your first task is to learn each idea as written. Be ready to apply all the musical tools you have at your disposal to create variations and permutations, by transposing, reharmonising, rhythmically displacing and so on. Perhaps the biggest lesson to be learnt from Kenny’s playing is to always make musical statements; he never sounds like he’s mindlessly noodling in the right key.
This often boils down to establishing a musical ‘intention’ or ‘shape’ to what we play. This can come in many forms but perhaps for now let’s take this to be the rhythmic component of your phrasing. Perhaps take the rhythmic shape of any phrase that takes you fancy from our examples and improvise, selecting new notes and harmonic possibilities for this specific rhythm. Of course, you can reverse the process, leaving the notes unchanged and play about with the time placement. This micro-management of musical material in real-time is much closer to the improvisation ethic within jazz than to reorder a collection of memorised licks that happen to be in the same key. I hope you enjoy our look into the world of Kenny Burrell.
NEXT MONTH John delves into the world of gypsy jazz and the amazing Stochelo Rosdenberg
KENNY BURRELL, THAT’S THE SOUND I’M LOOKING FOR JIMI HENDRIX