Blue Bash! [PA]

Performer: Kenny Burrell
Artist: George Duvivier; Mel Lewis; Milt Hinton
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: This 1999 reissue contains six bonus tracks not on the original release. Personnel: Kenny Burrell (guitar); Jimmy Smith (organ); George Duvivier, Milt Hinton (bass); Bill English, Mel Lewis (drums). Producer: Creed Taylor. Reissue producer: Ben Young. Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on July 16, 1963; Bell Sound Studios, New York, New York on July 25, 1963; A&R Recording, New York, New York on July 29, 1963. Includes liner notes by Michael Ullman and Del Shields. Digitally remastered using 24-bit technology by Kevin Reeves (Polygram Studios). This is part of the Verve Master Edition series. Groove great Kenny Burrell and Jimmy Smith (Hammond organ) together on the same album. Includes a rendition of "Fever." ~ Michael Erlewine This auspicious recording started out almost as an afterthought. Jimmy Smith was in the midst of making his excellent big-band album ANY NUMBER CAN WIN when he stepped into a couple of New York studios with old pal Kenny Burrell and a rhythm section to quickly cut the sides that became BLUE BASH. The air of spontaneity is certainly present here, as Burrell and Smith use the common language of the blues to move through a varied program. An appropriately simmering version of the Peggy Lee hit "Fever" finds Smith at his most sensual. The upbeat, Burrell-penned "Travelin'" has something of a gospel jubilee feel, along the lines of "When the Saints Go Marching In," and Burrell's joyous lines makes the most of the celebratory mood. The standard "Easy Living" finds the fiery Smith in an uncommonly wistful mode, contributing blissful, pretty organ runs over Burrell's lush harmonies. The revealing bonus tracks, almost another album's worth of material, shed further light on the interaction between the musicians, revealing both endearing flubs and previously unheard gems.

Detroit guitarist Kenny Burrell is one of the most influential guitar players in jazz. He started out performing with Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, and even Benny Goodman in the 1950s. Under his own name, he released some important collaborative efforts with John Coltrane and Jimmy Smith. Throughout the '60s, with such albums as the iconic MIDNIGHT BLUE, he helped define the modern concept of jazz guitar, and continued to explore the style for decades to come.

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