Joe Burton

Nowhere near as famous as Ahmad Jamal or Ramsey Lewis, jazz pianist Joe Burton explored some similar territory in the '50s and '60s on a series of albums for labels such as Regent, Coral and Joday. Burton also had his own artistic influences that were refreshingly at odds with the aforementioned players, a heavy thirst for bebop in which tall drinks of stylists such as Lennie Tristano and Bud Powell were often on order, intoxicating riffing with never a question of steadiness in the left hand. Burton's background included heavy duty schooling, with studies undertaken at institutes such as the Chicago Conservatory, St. Paul's College and Eastman College.

The pianist began playing professional club dates in New York City as a teenager and by the mid '40s had also already performed in Chicago, the west coast and Montreal. Like other jazzmen of his time, he considered it no disgrace to...

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Joe Burton Vinyl

2 records