Vinyl Vault — “Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane”

On Vinyl Vault we’ll have some 1950s bebop with guitarist Kenny Burrell and sax master John Coltrane. They recorded two back-to-back albums together, “Kenny Burrell with John Coltrane” in 1958 and “The Cats” in 1957. The albums were remastered and released together as a double record set under the name “Kenny Burrell John Coltrane.” This Tuesday, we’ll hear tracks from both sessions.

Shortly after the 1957 session, Coltrane joined Thelonious Monk’s band. That association proved instrumental in Coltrane’s development and these albums highlight the marked difference in Coltrane’s soloing in the space of that single year.

Besides Coltrane and Burrell, the only other band member for both sessions was pianist Tommy Flanagan. His steady hand moves through the chord progressions and many great solos are heard throughout. He also composed several of the songs for each session. The 1957 date included Doug Watkins on bass, Louis Hayes on the drums, and Idrees Sulieman on trumpet. The 1958 session included Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on the drums who were both in Miles Davis’s band at the time. Coltrane played with Davis both before and after these sessions.

Join Geoff Anderson for the next Vinyl Vault and check out the evolution of Coltrane’s style, on Tuesday, October 8 at 8:30 p.m. on KUVO JAZZ.

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