Midnight Blue

Read About This Recording

It took the guitar some time to be accepted as a jazz instrument. Although mastered by Eddie Lang, Lonnie Johnson, Carl Kress, Dick McDonough and the immortal Django Reinhardt during the 1920s and '30s, the low volume of the acoustic guitar led to its being utilized primarily as part of the rhythm section. That began to change with the rise of Charlie Christian, the first major electric guitarist, in 1939. Although Christian passed away prematurely in 1942, his approach, ideas and phrases became dominant in nearly every jazz guitarist to emerge until the fusion era of the late 1960s.

Kenny Burrell's career started 15 years before Benson's, emerging from the very viable Detroit jazz scene of the 1950s to appear on many straightahead sessions of the past 50 years. Midnight Blue is a classic set from 1963 that teams him with the great tenor-saxophonist Stanley Turrentine in a quintet also including bassist Major Holley, drummer Bill English and Ray Barretto on conga. The music is primarily blues and bluesy with the highlights including Chitlins Con Carne, Saturday Night Blues, Gee Baby Ain't I Good to You (the one standard) and Midnight Blue. The CD reissue adds two songs (Kenny's Sound and K Twist) to the program.

-Scott Yanow

Contents

Remastered!

Chitlins Con Carne; Mule; Soul Lament; Midnight Blue; Wavy Gravy; Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You; Saturday Night Blues; Kenny's Sound*; K Twist*.

(*Not part of original album.)

Kenny Burrell, Guitar; Stanley Turrentine, Tenor Sax; Major Holley Jr., Bass Guitar; Bill English, Drums; Ray Barretto, Conga.