On View at the Five Spot Cafe

Performer: Kenny Burrell
Artist: Art Blakey; Bobby Timmons; Roland Hanna; Tina Brooks
Engineer: Rudy Van Gelder
Producer: Alfred Lion
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Kenny Burrell (guitar); Tina Brooks (tenor saxophone); Bobby Timmons, Roland Hanna (piano); Ben Tucker (bass); Art Blakey (drums). Recorded live at the Five Spot Cafe, New York, New York on August 25, 1959. Includes liner notes by Joe Goldberg and Michael Cuscuna. Kenny Burrell and Art Blakey played together infrequently during their careers, so this meeting of jazz minds is a welcome occasion. A rather short set issued here from club dates at the Five Spot Cafe in New York City must have meant there were other nights of recordings that did not make it for public consumption, or that Burrell simply sat in. No matter the configuration, this is come what may jazz that has no pressurized content, and a relaxed atmosphere allowing the music to organically breathe and come alive naturally. This loose but tight feeling comes to the fore right away on Dizzy Gillespie's "Birk's Works," a rather polite version as Burrell tosses out his discriminating versions of the melody. Incorrectly identified as "Lady Be Good," this is actually an adaptation reworked by Thelonious Monk titled "Hackensack". It's a fast jam kicked off by a signature Blakey solo, where the band flies by the seat of their pants, and good feelings are fostered through the simple and solid tenor work of Brooks. Though not penned by Duke Ellington, the elegance he displayed and Burrell has always revered is quite evident during the ballad "Lover Man." Randy Weston's "Beef Stew Blues," Ray Brown's obscure "Swingin'" and the classic Tadd Dameron ballad "If You Could See Me Now" further illuminates how good this group could have been had they turned into a working unit. As the dawn of the 1960s saw new breed jazz being fomented, Burrell, Blakey and company proved you could still swing and remain melodic while creating new sonic vistas.

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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