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Since 1996, Burrell has served as Director of Jazz Studies at UCLA, mentoring such notable alumni as Gretchen Parlato and Kamasi Washington. Although the two never collaborated directly, Ellington called Burrell his 'favorite guitar player,' and Burrell has recorded a number of tributes to and interpretations of Ellington's works. In 1978, he began teaching a course at UCLA called 'Ellingtonia,' examining the life and accomplishments of Duke Ellington. Since his New York debut Burrell has had a prolific recording career, and critics have cited The Cats with John Coltrane in 1957, Midnight Blue with Stanley Turrentine in 1963, and Guitar Forms with arranger Gil Evans in 1965 as particular highlights. From 1957 to 1959, Burrell occupied the former chair of Charlie Christian in Benny Goodman's band. Within months, Burrell had recorded his first album as leader for Blue Note and both he and Flanagan were sought-after as sidemen and studio musicians, performing with singers Tony Bennett and Lena Horne and recording with Billie Holiday, Jimmy Smith, Gene Ammons, and Kenny Dorham, among others. Kenny Burrell in San Francisco, California, March 8, 1984īurrell toured with Oscar Peterson after graduating in 1955 and then moved to New York City in 1956 with pianist Tommy Flanagan.

While in college, Burrell founded the New World Music Society collective with fellow Detroit musicians Pepper Adams, Donald Byrd, Elvin Jones, and Yusef Lateef. While a student at Wayne State University, he made his recording debut as a member of Dizzy Gillespie's sextet in 1951, followed by the 'Rose of Tangier'/'Ground Round' single recorded under his own name at Fortune Records in Detroit. He was inspired to play jazz after listening to Oscar Moore, but it was Django Reinhardt who showed him 'that you could get your own individuality on an instrument.' He went on to study composition and theory with Louis Cabara and classical guitar with Joe Fava.

During World War II, due to metal shortage, he abandoned the idea of becoming a saxophonist, and bought an acoustic guitar for $10. Both his parents played instruments, and he began playing guitar at the age of 12 after listening to Charlie Christian's recordings. īurrell is a professor and Director of Jazz Studies at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. He has cited jazz guitarists Charlie Christian, Oscar Moore, and Django Reinhardt as influences, along with blues guitarists T-Bone Walker and Muddy Waters.

His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 Billboard Top Twenty hit Verve album Organ Grinder Swing.

Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord.

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