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Jimi Hendrix once said, “KENNY BURRELL that’s the sound I’m looking for.” As someone who was introduced to jazz by the men in my life, I appreciate jazz so much now and find the history so fascinating. I’ve been playing Kenny’s albums Blue Lights and Midnight Blue in my office for a week now, so I thought I’d tell you about him.

Known for bebop and blues, KENNY BURRELL is a guitar virtuoso and jazz composer who pioneered the guitar trio with bass and drums in the 1950s. Throughout his music career, Kenny worked with legends like Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Lena Horne, Billie Holiday, Tony Bennett, Duke Ellington, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Grover Washington, Jr.

BLUE LIGHTS was recorded during a 1958 Blue Note jam session and is a bit hard to find, but MIDNIGHT BLUE is one of Kenny’s best known albums, so it’s readily available.