Young Kenny Burrell photo

[AndyV]

Kenny Burrell + Tommy Flanagan

[TOMMO]

Great find!

[Doctor Jeff]

He is certainly young there. Flanagan played in a band with Burrell when they were both teenagers in Detroit. He moved to NYC with Flanagan in 1956, when he was 25.

Burrell recorded the great album with John Coltrane featuring Flanagan, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb in March 1958. I don't think either had recorded with Coltrane prior to that--not sure how that session came about, but I imagine it might have been suggested by the label.

[AllanAllen]

That’s a great album, The Cats.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

There are two Coltrane/Burrell albums, right? The Cats (1957) and Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane (1958).

[wintermoon]

for the gear geeks [like me] that's a prewar Gibson ES-100 wCC pu, a budget version of the ES-150 that Christian played.
Eddis Duran of the Vince Guaraldi trio played one also.

[Doctor Jeff]

There are two Coltrane/Burrell albums, right? The Cats (1957) and Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane (1958).

You're right about that. I saw that it was released in 1959, but I believe recorded in '57. I don't think I've ever heard it in toto.

[AlsoRan]

I wish Kenny would do an autobiography. What stories he could tell and experiences he must have had - both in music and given the societal norms he lived through.

[wintermoon]

I wish Kenny would do an autobiography. What stories he could tell and experiences he must have had - both in music and given the societal norms he lived through.

has anything been heard from him following the fundraiser controversy?

[jmgalich]

Kenny was a major resource/contributor to a book someone was working on a book about the Detroit jazz scene. While I don't know what became of the book, I do recall that Kenny was instrumental in bringing other jazz players like Tommy Flanagan to NYC in the 1950s.

Separately, I do know that Kenny was in Oscar Peterson's trio for a while, I think between Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis. Have any recordings of this group surfaced anywhere? It would be quite interesting to hear.

John Galich

[Doctor Jeff]

Kenny was a major resource/contributor to a book someone was working on a book about the Detroit jazz scene. While I don't know what became of the book, I do recall that Kenny was instrumental in bringing other jazz players like Tommy Flanagan to NYC in the 1950s.

Separately, I do know that Kenny was in Oscar Peterson's trio for a while, I think between Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis. Have any recordings of this group surfaced anywhere? It would be quite interesting to hear.

John Galich

Wiki says that Kenny and Tommy played in bands when they were teens in Detroit, and after Burrell toured with Peterson in '55 the pair moved to NYC, where he and Tommy were both sought-after sidemen. They lived with Kenny's aunt for awhile.

Both these cats played with some incredible people--Miles, Oscar, Sonny. What an education they got!

[Stringswinger]

There are two Coltrane/Burrell albums, right? The Cats (1957) and Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane (1958).

Yes. And both are well worth having.

[sgcim]

Kenny was a major resource/contributor to a book someone was working on a book about the Detroit jazz scene. While I don't know what became of the book, I do recall that Kenny was instrumental in bringing other jazz players like Tommy Flanagan to NYC in the 1950s.

Separately, I do know that Kenny was in Oscar Peterson's trio for a while, I think between Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis. Have any recordings of this group surfaced anywhere? It would be quite interesting to hear.

John Galich

You can find them on OP's anthology albums. KB sounded great on everything but the ridiculously fast tempo tunes OP used to play. BK and herb Ellis (very underrated) could keep up with OP more than KB could.
I still wonder why OP turned down Lenny Breau when he auditioned for OP's group.

[AlsoRan]

has anything been heard from him following the fundraiser controversy?

That was a mess, indeed! Every so often, I google his name and put in "2022" or "2021" for last year, and basically no updates are to be found. This growing old stuff is really no joke. Not only do you grow old, but everyone you love does, too. And we all have our battles.

SMH!

[Otterfan]

In case anyone is curious, this photo was taken in 1948 by a nightclub photographer named Bob Douglas at Andrew Sneed’s Club Three 666 in Detroit. Kenny Burrell would have been 16 or 17, and Tommy Flanagan was a year older.

[David B]

Kenny was a major resource/contributor to a book someone was working on a book about the Detroit jazz scene.

That would be ‘Jazz from Detroit’ by Mark Stryker. It was published last year and it’s excellent.

[Litterick]

In case anyone is curious, this photo was taken in 1948 by a nightclub photographer named Bob Douglas at Andrew Sneed’s Club Three 666 in Detroit. Kenny Burrell would have been 16 or 17, and Tommy Flanagan was a year older.

Thank you. I spent some time searching photographs of tiki clubs, without success. But now I know.

[David B]

has anything been heard from him following the fundraiser controversy?

He wrote about the late vocalist Ernie Andrews for JazzTimes following his death in February 2022.
Kenny Burrell Remembers Ernie Andrews - JazzTimes