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‘Ellingtonia’ Again Brings Kenny Burrell to Southland

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SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

For the past 12 years, guitarist Kenny Burrell, one of the most captivating and musical of jazz players, has left New York from January through March to take up residence in the Southland.

The chief purpose of this extended stay is to teach “Ellingtonia,” a winter quarter course at UCLA that involves the music of Duke Ellington and others associated with him, such as his alter ego Billy Strayhorn, saxophonist Johnny Hodges, trumpeter Bubber Miley and many more.

For the record:

12:00 a.m. March 2, 1991 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday March 2, 1991 Home Edition Calendar Part F Page 6 Column 6 Entertainment Desk 1 inches; 25 words Type of Material: Correction
Wrong title-- The title of an album featuring Horace Tapscott and others was incorrectly identified in Friday’s Calendar. The correct title is “West Coast Hot” (RCA/Novus).

“And along with talking about Ellington, I’m also addressing the history of jazz,” says Burrell of the course that is currently co-listed with the Afro-American studies and ethnomusicology departments. “Duke was right there in the middle of it. Being born in 1899, he grew up as the music grew up, and eventually he extended both its boundaries and its possibilities.”

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The 59-year-old guitarist, who earned his Bachelor’s of Music from Wayne State University in 1955, says his students are “hungry for knowledge about jazz. I’m able to tell them about it and relate jazz as part of American culture, which (students) sometimes don’t know about.”

Burrell, who plays tonight and Saturday at Stingaree Gulch in the Sheraton San Pedro hotel with pianist Gildo Mahones and drummer Tootie Heath), also heads up a sextet--Buster Cooper (trombone), Herman Riley (saxes), Mahones (piano), Richard Reid (bass), Paul Humphrey (drums) and Raphael Murphy (vibes)--in a free concert Sunday, 7 p.m., at the Wadsworth Theater in Brentwood. Information: (213) 825-9261.

The artist, whose latest release is “Guiding Spirit” (Contemporary), says his goal is “play with with good tone, good phrasing and to swing. I strive for honesty in playing what I feel. Sometimes we humans try to be a little slick in terms of what we say and play but overall, in long run, that doesn’t work. I just try to make good music.”

Club Crawl: Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood hosts some hometown folks this week. Saxophonist Benn Clatworthy, whose debut release “Thanks Horace” (Discovery) is getting plenty of airplay on KLON-FM (88.1), arrives Tuesday with his longstanding quartet--Cecilia Coleman (piano), Jimmy Hoff (bass) and Kendall Kay (drums). On Wednesday, reedman Charles Owens also fronts a foursome--Ottmaro Ruiz (keyboards), Richard Reid (bass) and Chester Thompson (drums) are his cohorts--for explorations of originals and classics. Sunday, it’s Paul Fred Cohen, a drummer/singer who played with Bill Evans, Charles Mingus and recorded with Archie Shepp before becoming an attorney, leading a quintet with Alan Broadbent (piano), Dave Koonse (guitar), Steve Huffsteter (trumpet) and Putter Smith (bass).

Sandwiched in between these artists will be a Thursday-Saturday stand by pianist/composer Horace Tapscott, the improvisationally adventurous and unpredictable craftsman whose latest release, “The Dark Tree, Volume 1” (hat ART), is a quartet date, featuring clarinetist John Carter that was recorded at the room in December, 1989. For this engagement, Tapscott will be joined by Michael Sessions (saxes), Roberto Miranda (bass) and Fritz Wise (drums).

It’s a good time for Tapscott. His debut release, 1969’s “The Giant Is Awakened,” originally on Flying Dutchman records and spotlighting Arthur Blythe, has just been re-released as “Best of the West” (RCA), coupled with a John Carter-Bobby Bradford date, and “The Dark Tree, Volume 2” is set for release in April.

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Like many Los Angeles-based musicians, Tapscott works more frequently out of town than in. Each year he makes several trips to Northern California and travels to Europe regularly. In April, he and Sessions will make a monthlong visit to Austria, Germany, France and Italy, playing with a bassist and drummer from the Continent.

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