Guitar Forms

Guitar Forms is a 1965 album by Kenny Burrell, featuring arrangements by Gil Evans.^[1] Evans' orchestra appears on five of the album's nine tracks, including the nearly 9-minute "Lotus Land". Three tracks are blues numbers in a small group format and there is one solo performance: "Prelude #2".

Guitar Forms
Studio album by Kenny Burrell
Released	1965
Recorded	December 4, 15, 1964, Webster Hall, New York City, New York, April 6, 12, 1965, Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Genre	Jazz
Length	38:31
Label	Verve
Producer	Creed Taylor
Kenny Burrell chronology
Freedom (1963-64) Guitar Forms (1965) The Tender Gender (1965)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Record Mirror	[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[3]
DownBeat	[4]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[5]

Reception

In 1966, the album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Performance – Large Group or Soloist with Large Group, for Best Album Cover – Photography, and Gil Evans was nominated for Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist or Instrumentalist for "Greensleeves".^[6]

Track listing

1. "Downstairs" (Elvin Jones) – 2:53
2. "Lotus Land" (Cyril Scott) – 9:38
3. "Terrace Theme" (Joe Benjamin) – 4:02
4. "Prelude No. 2" (George Gershwin) – 2:17
5. "Moon and Sand" (William Engvick, Morty Palitz, Alec Wilder) – 4:16
6. "Loie" (Kenny Burrell) – 3:19
7. "Greensleeves" (Traditional) – 4:12
8. "Last Night When We Were Young" (Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg) – 4:34
9. "Breadwinner" (Burrell) – 3:00

   Alternative tracks included on the Verve Jazz Masters reissue:

10. "Downstairs" – 4:11
11. "Downstairs" – 3:06
12. "Downstairs" – 2:38
13. "Downstairs" – 2:36
14. "Terrace Theme" – 2:59
15. "Terrace Theme" – 3:58
16. "Terrace Theme" – 4:09
17. "Breadwinner" – 3:51
18. "Breadwinner" – 3:49
19. "Breadwinner" – 3:17
20. "Breadwinner" – 3:04

Personnel

Combo

• Kenny Burrell - guitar
• Roger Kellaway - piano
• Joe Benjamin - double bass
• Grady Tate - drums
• Willie Rodriguez - conga

Orchestra

• Gil Evans - arranged & conducted
• Kenny Burrell - guitar
• Johnny Coles or Louis Mucci - trumpet
• Jimmy Cleveland & Jimmy Knepper - trombone
• Andy Fitzgerald - flute & English horn
• Ray Beckenstein - alto flute, flute & bass clarinet
• George Marge - English horn & flute or Richie Kamuca - tenor sax & oboe
• Lee Konitz - alto saxophone
• Steve Lacy - soprano saxophone
• Bob Tricarico - tenor sax, bassoon & flute
• Ray Alonge or Julius Watkins - french horn
• Bill Barber - tuba
• Ron Carter - double bass
• Elvin Jones & Charlie Persip - drums & percussion

Production

• Creed Taylor – producer
• Rudy Van Gelder – engineer

Charts

Chart performance for Guitar Forms

Chart (2024)	Peak position
Croatian International Albums (HDU)[7]	30

References

1. Ginell, Richard S. (2011). "Guitar Forms - Kenny Burrell | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
2. Jones, Peter; Jopling, Norman (23 October 1965). "Kenny Burrell: Guitar Forms" (PDF). Record Mirror. No. 241. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
3. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 201. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
4. DownBeat magazine, November 4, 1965, p. 26
5. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 33. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
6. "1965 Grammy Winners". grammy.com. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
7. "Lista prodaje 25. tjedan 2024" (in Croatian). HDU. June 10, 2024. Archived from the original on June 29, 2024. Retrieved June 29, 2024.