Known as Duke Ellington's favorite guitarist, Kenny Burrell was a master of the blues. In 1963, he recorded Midnight Blue for Blue Note, one of his best known session for the label and also considered one of the best-sounding records of the New York imprint. Midnight Blue plumbs the depths of the blues for its harmonic subtleties and lyricism in a manner that can be readily accessible on its face yet challenging enough to reward repeated visits. Featuring a pianoless quintet that includes Stanley Turrentine on tenor sax, Major Holley Jr. on bass, Bill English on drums and Ray Barretto on congas, Burrell and company get a clean open sound and a deep groove on such now classic compositions as the title tune and "Chitlins Con Carne," which has become a blues band staple. For any reason this masterpiece was Alfred Lion’s favorite production. 5 STARS AMG
