Chitlins Con Carne

Stanley Turrentine (tenor sax), Kenny Burrell (electric guitar), Major Holley (double bass), Bill English (drums) and Ray Barretto (congas). From the album Midnight Blue (1963).

This is one of Kenny Burrell’s best albums and it’s a combination of blues and bebop. Although recorded in 1963, it still sounds soft and fresh today. It is a perfect example of good taste and moderate execution, reminding us that “less is more” is a truth ignored by many musicians today. Guitarists should never be relegated to a style or genre if they ever hope to improve their rendition and expand their musical range. Turrentine, Burrell and Barretto combine their unique sounds in an artistic composition comparable to chamber music.

The album flows effortlessly, Burrell is virtuoso, discreet and minimalist, the perfect counterpoint to Stanley Turrentine’s fine tenor saxophone. Burrell’s guitar is warm playing simple and clean melodies, the drums and conga have an eloquent presence, the double bass sounds deep and natural, and the sound of Turrentine’s saxophone is great and shines like a hot fire. A truly exceptional work.

This theme is a minor latin blues based on soul jazz. Holley, English and Barretto make a little introduction, and then Turrentine and Burrell expose the theme in unison. With this melody it seems that you are in a sun lounger under an umbrella on a beach in the southern seas. Burrell enters to make a relaxed, but determined solo, alternating melodies with chords. All of a sudden he accelerates his speech momentarily, but then he returns to the fold. Turrentine follows him playing very bluesy phrases that break your heart. Then he and Burrell exchange two-bars solos that end up becoming a dialogue that continues until they re-expose the subject fading out.