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--- Dec 29 2000 Go to category
Subject:	Kenny Burrell
Category:	Other Musicians
From:	james green (usa)
Question:	Hey Pat, Have you ever hooked up with Kenny Burrell? I know you don't have any official recordings out but I was wondering if you have ever had the chance to play together. Is he one of the guys that you would like to work with at some point? Any opinions or impressions of his playing? Any of his CDs that you would recommend? I caught him in a really intimate setting here in MD a few years back and he was great (maybe I should reword that last sentence - it doesn't sound quite right :-) ).
Pat’s Answer:	hi james, a couple of years ago, kenny called me and asked me for a quote to put into his press kit - he knows how much i love him!. it was a pleasure for me to contribute something... here is what i wrote.... kenny burrell is inspiring. his incredible sound and touch, combined with the natural blues phrasing and soulful spirit that is always communicated in his playing has earned him a place as one of the most significant contributors to the evolution of the guitar as a jazz instrument. whenever kenny plays, the listener is treated to the pleasures of hearing a sound that is detailed, precise and eloquent, yet one that retains a strong spiritual connection to the earliest blues guitar players. his ability to apply the essential wisdom of the blues to the advanced harmonic vocabulary of bebop and post-bop improvisational languages forged an important stylistic connection that has affected and influenced literally thousands of jazz guitarists and musicians in general all over the globe. in my own case, kenny’s records remain permanently lodged on my sound system where they have had a prominent place since i was just a kid learning about music. to me, he is a player that i can zoom in and study in detail and find a million things to love, or i can just sit back and enjoy the overall positive effect that his music seems to bring to a room when it is playing. kenny is one of my main heroes! -pat metheny *************** recommended recordings? blues the common ground (my fav) midnight blue blue bash (w/ jimmy smith) men at work (w/roy haynes and richard davis)