Midnight Blue (Kenny Burrell album)

Midnight Blue is a 1963[4][5][6] album by Jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell featuring Stanley Turrentine on tenor saxophone, Major Holley on double bass, Bill English on drums and Ray Barretto on conga, and is one of Burrell's best-known works for Blue Note.[7] Jazz Improv magazine lists the album among its top five recommended recordings for Burrell, indicating that "[i]f you need to know 'the Blue Note sound', here it is".[8] In 2005, NPR included the album in its "Basic Jazz Library", describing it as "one of the great jazzy blues records".[9] The album has been re-issued by Blue Note and the French label Classics.

Midnight Blue
Studio album by Kenny Burrell
Released	Early May 1963[1]
Recorded	January 8, 1963 Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs
Genre	Jazz
Length	35:39 original LP 45:18 CD reissue
Label	Blue Note BST 84123
Producer	Michael Cuscuna, Alfred Lion, Tom Vasatka
Kenny Burrell chronology
Bluesy Burrell (1962) Midnight Blue (1963) Crash! (1963)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]

Track listing

Except where otherwise noted, all songs composed by Kenny Burrell.

1. "Chitlins con Carne" – 5:30
2. "Mule" (Kenny Burrell, Major Holley Jr.) – 6:56
3. "Soul Lament" – 2:43
4. "Midnight Blue" – 4:02
5. "Wavy Gravy" – 5:47
6. "Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You" (Andy Razaf, Don Redman) – 4:25
7. "Saturday Night Blues" – 6:16
8. "Kenny's Sound" – 4:43 (Bonus track on CD reissue)
9. "K Twist" – 3:36 (Bonus track on CD reissue)

Personnel

Performance

• Kenny Burrell – guitar
• Stanley Turrentine – tenor saxophone (except #3, 4, 6, 9)
• Major Holley – bass (except #3)
• Bill English – drums (except #3)
• Ray Barretto – conga (except #3, 6)

Production

• Eric Bernhardi – graphic design
• Bob Blumenthal – liner notes
• Micaela Boland – design
• Michael Cuscuna – producer, reissue producer
• Leonard Feather – original liner notes
• Gordon Jee – creative director
• Alfred Lion – producer
• Reid Miles – cover design, typography
• Rudy Van Gelder – engineer, remastering
• Tom Vasatka – Producer
• Francis Wolff – photography, cover photo

References

1. Billboard May 11, 1963
2. Allmusic review
3. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
4. Blue Note discography
5. Allmusic.com
6. AllAboutJazz Archived 2008-03-31 at the Wayback Machine
7. Midnight Blue at AllMusic
8. Jazz Legends Kenny Burrell Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine Jazz Improv magazine website. Accessed November 6, 2007.
9. Horwitz, Murray. (April 1, 2005) Kenny Burrell 'Midnight Blue' NPR. Accessed November 6, 2007.