JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
Rating: 
Occasionally, a date is so perfectly executed that it’s almost immaterial that there’s very little that’s challenging going on in the music.
Kenny Burrell’s Midnight Blue is a case in point. Most of the material is blues-oriented, which is no knock in and of itself, but Burrell approaches it in such an extraordinarily simple way that intellectually speaking, there’s almost nothing to chew on. His blues lines and comps are elementary, but executed with such precision and grace that they approach a platonic ideal.
For Burrell’s approach, Stanley Turrentine is the perfect saxophonist. He plays bluesy soul that has absolutely zero interest beyond the mood it enhances. Bassist Major Holley too plays only what he absolutely has to, but with a gorgeous tone. Ray Barretto on congas adds some Latin sauce but he too is only there for mood. Drummer Bill English barely plays.
Restraint and mood is the entire show here. Midnight Blue is aptly named - it’s like a soundtrack for a late night bar.
It would be easy to dismiss Midnight Blue as overly simplistic, but trust me, it’s not easy to create such defiantly anti-virtuosic music and have it be anything but bland. Midnight Blue is not bland in the least. It has a smokey, laconic flavor all it’s own.
Check out the samples. If you like them, you’ll like Midnight Blue.