Customer Reviews

Lucky So and So

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I've been a fan of Kenny Burrell since the mid to late '60s ~ realized he's been around and recording since the mid '50s with various labels ~ remember his style and influence was from Django Reinhardt, Charlie Christian and Oscar Moore, not bad company to be in.

Of course the stand outs ~ "SQUEEZE ME", a great novelty tune by the late Duke Ellington ~ "IN A SENTIMENTAL MOOD", another Ellington classic with this terrific arrangement, so laid back with each musician blending together is pure mellowness.

Hats off to ~ Onaje Allan Gumbs (keyboards), Rufus Reid (bass), Akira Tana (drums) ~ and of course John Burk (producer), Glen Barros (executive producer), Josiah Gluck (recording engineer), Seth Presant (mixed/mastered) ~ the style and talent of this great guitarist, producer and our host, who is just a lucky so and so ~ KENNY BURRELL!

Total Time: 59:14 on 10 Tracks ~ Concord Jazz CCD-4951-2 ~ (2001)

A pleasingly old school acoustic jazz quartet is hampered only by the recording ambience, which has the clinical, slightly dead studio sound that used to hamper so many Japanese jazz recordings. It takes what could have been a pleasing throwback and renders it into mood music, something you might fall asleep to. There's a heavy reliance on Ellington tunes (including the title track's sweet tribute to the Duke) but the musical atmosphere is anything but Ellingtonian. Still, it's all quite pleasant and certainly worth hearing for Burrell's longtime fans. Surprisingly, the tracks Burrell sings on are quite enjoyable, as he has carefully chosen tunes that aren't overly familiar and that suit a man of, well, a certain age. I was particularly stunned by the lyrics of "My Ship," which I have never heard before, and which Burrell delivers quite convincingly. It's the one track here that made me sit up and take notice.