Chitlins Con Carne

Kenny Burrell during the "Midnight Blue" sessions. Jan. 8, 1963

As far as jazz guitar on Blue Note records goes, there are two names you must know: Grant Green and Kenny Burrell. While Grant's discography for Blue Note is rather large, Kenny Burrell did much of his recording as a sideman. His 1963 album, "Midnight Blue" however, was not only a game changer for Burrell, but remains one of the cornerstone titles of the Blue Note label.

The album features some great sidemen including Ray Barretto on congas, Stanley Turrentine on tenor sax (both are also solo artists) and the mighty Major "Mule" Holley on the upright bass. Holley acquired that nickname due to his habit of accentuating his walking bass lines with vocal grunts, often very audibly, hence the name of the album's second track, "Mule". This album is beautifully recorded; state of the art for the time and sounds just great on CD, but is a special treat to hear on vinyl. "Midnight Blue" remains a highly recommended addition to your jazz collection.

Here's the opening cut, "Chitlins Con Carne". Mix up a Tom Collins and take a seat by a warm fire.

Even a cursory listen to this song tells you that this was likely an influential sound on young budding guitarists of the 1960's. I'm certain both Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana soaked up Burrell's sound early on and mixed it in with their other influences. So it makes sense that the song would continue its influence down the line to the next generation of musicians, who picked up the song from the musicians who influenced them.

We all know Stevie Ray Vaughan was an amazing guitarist alright, but it's mostly because he was no slouch as a music student. He learned the foundations of what became his signature phrasing from the recordings of Albert King, Lonnie Mack, Jimi Hendrix and yes, Kenny Burrell.

I got to see Stevie play only once, in a nightclub in Destin, Florida in 1983. My group of buddies and I had no clue who we were going to see that night. Some blues guy that sounds like ZZ Top? Yeah, sure. Well, Stevie hit that stage like the gunslinger that he was, grabbed his audience by its collective face and didn't let up for his entire set. When he sat on the floor at the very front of the stage to play "Lenny", you could have heard a mouse break wind. It takes a special player to silence a nightclub full of rowdy partiers. It was a stunning set, partly due to my not ever having seen a musician attack his instrument the way Stevie did. The other thing I recall that impressed me is that while the band was quite loud, it wasn't just volume. It was tone. Gobs of thick, clear, bluesy tone, and it was coming off the stage, not from the P.A. mains, which were very close to being unnecessary from my vantage point.

Stevie also had some rough times dealing with personal demons along his road to success throughout the 1980's. I wish I'd gotten to see him play again after he'd cleaned up. Vaughan was killed in a helicopter crash in August of 1990. He is one of those unique players that fuels speculation regarding what new directions he would have taken not just his own guitar playing, but modern blues in general. He is, and will be missed.

From the first of several posthumous collections of outtakes, "The Sky Is Crying", here's Stevie Ray Vaughan's Texas-ized version of "Chitlins Con Carne".

The entire Stevie Ray Vaughan catalog is in print and available at Amazon and almost anywhere else. The four studio albums released during his lifetime, "Texas Flood", "Couldn't Stand The Weather", "Soul To Soul" and "In Step", are all available as double disc Legacy Editions from Sony Music.

Amazon currently lists 125 albums with Kenny Burrell's name on them. That's a hell of a lot to wade through, so I will recommend that you start with "Midnight Blue" and go from there. You can even get it on brand new vinyl if you want. Trust me, take the hint.