Considering that Kenny Burrell is one of the best known jazz guitarists, this greatest hits package is unimpressive. The funny thing is that I kept giving this one more chances because I thought that perhaps I was mistaken and that I would grow to love this disc. Loving The Best of Kenny Burrell was something that never happened. All I did was get more familiar with these songs. This sounds like jazz guitar in a box because it sounds as if there is no passion put into any of the notes. Even my son who is but 5yrs old now and already an avid fan of jazz always complains when this one comes on in my 100 disc changer mix.
I know Kenny Burrell is capable of putting out good albums. Recently, I reviewed Burrell’s album Midnight Blue, and I thought rather highly of it. It is hard to imagine how a single album could be so much better than a greatest hits package. Perhaps, the person selecting the songs was a numbnut. I don’t know. At this point in time I only own these two Kenny Burrell discs. However, one thing is for sure, I am not venturing out into Burrell’s catalogue any further because when the greatest hits aren’t that great, it doesn’t indicate that there is much depth to the rest of this musician’s catalogue. I could be completely wrong about that, but usually greatest hits albums are at least like a litmus test. I admit that this comes as a surprise, as I have heard musician’s rave about Kenny Burrell, and he is usually listed among the greatest jazz guitarists in the world.
Despite all my lambasting of this work, I am not as harsh as my son. I like most of the songs on it a little bit, but not enough for me to give this stale piece of jazz a rave review. This style of guitar has come to be standard for the industry. For example, if I were still playing jazz guitar, my attack toward playing the songs would probably be nearly identical, and for me that is a weakness, but that is not to Kenny Burrell’s credit either.
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