Catch Kenny Burrell this weekend at Yoshi's, live and maybe free

You will find Kenny Burrell near the top of any credible list of jazz’s greatest guitarists. He may not be a genre-forging pioneer on the scale of Charlie Christian or Wes Montgomery but he has, over the course of a half century, put his indelible stamp on jazz guitar, in the studio, on stage and in the classroom (Burrell has taught at UCLA for years).
Burrell opens a three-night stand Friday at Yoshi’s in Oakland, marking among other milestones the release of his latest album, “Be Yourself: Live at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola.” His band this weekend includes Tivon Pennicott (saxophone), Mike Wofford (piano), Roberto Miranda (bass) and Clayton Cameron (drums).
Suffice it to say, the engagement offers Northern California jazz fans the opportunity to see a living legend in action. And for free, by the way.
That’s right. The fine folks at Yoshi’s contacted me about a contest and I said, “Absolutely.” It goes like this:

The first two people to post a link to this Examiner.com posting on the Yoshi’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/yoshisjazz) win a pair of tickets each to the 10 p.m. Saturday show. Said tickets retail at $26 a throw, you should know, so be the first (or second) on your block to make that link. Good luck!

Now if by come chance, you can’t make it out to Yoshi’s this weekend, let me plug my favorite Burrell albums.
"Midnight Blue" (1963): I won’t mince words – this is simply a work of genius. The guitarist shares front line duties with another stone favorite of mine, sax great Stanley Turrentine, and they swing through this Blue Note gem. This set opens with the cooking, off-covered Burrell original “Chitlins con Carne” and features the title track, “Wavy Gravy” and “Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good to You.” If your collection lacks Burrell, pick this one up immediately. As in, don’t even wait to finish this senten….
"Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane” (1958): I am, I admit, a faithful adherent of the Church of Trane, so you can imagine my glee when I first encountered this disc. Listening to it, however, I quickly came to realize that Burrell more than holds his own, that his insinuating guitar provides a fine foil for Coltrane’s sax. Favorite tracks: “Freight Trane” and “Why Was I Born?”
"A Night at the Vanguard” (1959): This live trio set finds Burrell sharing that famed Greenwich Village stage with Richard Davis (bass) and Roy Haynes (drums). The material is good and varied – including a cool closer, Monk’s “Well, You Needn’t” – and Burrell brings a swing and soulful passion to the entire enterprise. This is among the best-known Burrell live albums.
"Live at the Downtown Room” (2009): And this may be the most obscure. I picked up this disc last year used at Boo Boo’s in San Luis Obispo (the place to go on the Central Coast). Recorded in Buffalo in ’76, it finds Burrell with Lisle Atkinson (bass) and Lennie McBrowne (drums) and spotlights the impressive piano of Richard Wyands. The sound quality is not quite equal to a contemporary live recording but its shortcomings don’t detract from the listening experience in any significant way. If you’re into guitar jazz, pick this one up.

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