Kenny Burrell
A favorite of BB King, Dizzy and Hendrix
Legend Award performance – 2015
One of the amazing artists who came from the ever-fertile city of Detroit, Kenny Burrell was born July 31, 1931.
He cites his influences as Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt as well as blues musicians T-Bone Walker and Muddy Waters.
Duke Ellington, BB King, Dizzy Gillespie and Jimi Hendrix all sand his praises as a guitar player.
Currently, Burrell is a professor and Director of Jazz Studies at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.
His first appearance on a record was as a member of Dizzy Gillespie’s sextet in 1951 – the first of hundreds and hundreds.
He began his life as an educator by teaching a course called “Ellingtonia” at UCLA.