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Dave Burrell

b. 1940

American musician

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About Dave Burrell

Born 1940. Dave Burrell is an American composer, pianist, jazz musician, musician and bandleader.

Herman Davis "Dave" Burrell (born September 10, 1940) is an American jazz pianist. He has played with many jazz musicians including Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brown and David Murray.

Biography Born in Middletown, Ohio, United States, Burrell studied music at the University of Hawaii from 1958 to 1960, While in Boston, he played with Tony Williams and Sam Rivers. and with whom he would go on to record nearly twenty albums.

Burrell's first album as a leader was High Won-High Two (1968), produced by Alan Douglas. Echo and La Vie de Bohème were recorded for BYG Actuel in Paris in 1969. He recorded Round Midnight for Nippon Columbia.

In 1978 he composed a jazz opera entitled Windward Passages, in collaboration with Swedish poet and lyricist Monika Larsson, with an album of the same name, based on the opera, released in 1979 on Hathut in Switzerland. Their touring and recording collaborations resulted in Daybreak (1989), Brother to Brother (1992), In Concert (1992), and Windward Passages (1993). Burrell appears on Murray's DIW albums Lovers, Deep River, Ballads, Spirituals, Tenors, Remembrances, and Picasso, recorded between 1988 and 1993.

Burrell tours and performs as a soloist and as a leader of a duo, trio, and larger ensembles. He recorded for the High Two label from Philadelphia. His 2004 album Expansion (with bassist William Parker and drummer Andrew Cyrille) was acclaimed by NPR, Down Beat, Village Voice, JazzTimes, The Wire, and others. Splasc Records (Italy) released a studio solo piano recording, Margy Pargy in 2005. In 2006, Burrell released Consequences, a live duet set with Medeski, Martin & Wood drummer Billy Martin, and Momentum, featuring bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Guillermo E. Brown. RAI Trade (Italy) recorded a concert of Burrell and Larsson's collaborations, Dave Burrell Plays His Songs, featuring singer Leena Conquest, which was released in 2010.

In 2022, it was announced that Burrell had donated his archive to the Center for American Music in the University of Pittsburgh Library System.

Discography

As leader

As sideman or co-leader With Albert Ayler Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962–70) (Revenant, 2004): one track

With Marion Brown Three for Shepp (Impulse!, 1966) Juba-Lee (Fontana, 1967) 79118 Live (DIW, 1979) Live at the Black Musicians' Conference, 1981 (NoBusiness Records, 2018) Capricorn Moon to Juba Lee Revisited (ezz-thetics, 2019)

With Stanley Cowell Questions / Answers (Trio Records, 1974)

With Henry Grimes, Roberto Pettinato, and Tyshawn Sorey Purity (Sony, 2012) Same Egg (Sony, 2013)

With Duo Baars-Henneman Trandans (Wig, 2017)

With Noah Howard At Judson Hall (ESP-Disk, 1968)

With Khan Jamal Speak Easy (Gazell, 1989)

With Stafford James Jazz a Confronto 26 (Horo Records, 1976)

With Giuseppi Logan The Giuseppi Logan Quintet (Tompkins Square, 2010)

With Grachan Moncur III New Africa (BYG Actuel, 1969) Shadows (Denon, 1977)

With David Murray Hope Scope (Black Saint, 1987) Ballads (DIW, 1988) Deep River (DIW, 1988) Spirituals (DIW, 1988) Lovers (DIW, 1988) Tenors (DIW, 1988) Lucky Four (Tutu, 1989) Last of the Hipmen (Jazzline, 1989) Remembrances (DIW, 1990) Death of a Sideman (DIW, 1991) In Concert (Victo, 1991) Picasso (DIW, 1992)

With Sunny Murray Homage to Africa (BYG Actuel, 1969) Sunshine (BYG Actuel, 1969) Charred Earth (Kharma, 1977) Perles noires Vol. I (Eremite Records, 2005)

With Alessandro Nobile and Antonio Moncada Reaction And Reflection (Rudi Records, 2018)

With William Parker The Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield (Rai Trade, 2007) I Plan to Stay a Believer (AUM Fidelity, 2010) Essence of Ellington (Centering, 2012)

With Odeon Pope Epitome (Soul Note, 1993) Changes & Changes (CIMP, 1999)

With Roswell Rudd Inside Job (Arista/Freedom, 1976)

With Pharoah Sanders Tauhid (Impulse!, 1967)

With Archie Shepp The Way Ahead (Impulse!, 1968) Blasé (BYG Actuel, 1969) Black Gipsy (America, 1969) Pitchin Can (America, 1969) Live at the Pan-African Festival (BYG Actuel, 1969) Yasmina, a Black Woman (BYG Actuel, 1969) For Losers (Impulse!, 1971) Things Have Got to Change (Impulse!, 1971) The Cry of My People (Impulse!, 1972) Attica Blues (Impulse!, 1972) Kwanza (Impulse!, 1974) There's a Trumpet in My Soul (Arista Freedom 1975) Montreux One (Arista Freedom, 1975) Montreux Two (Arista Freedom, 1975) A Sea of Faces (Black Saint, 1975) Body and Soul (Horo, 1975) U-Jaama (Unite) (Unitelidis, 1975) Jazz a Confronto 27 (Horo, 1976) Lover Man (Timeless, 1989)

With Sonny Sharrock Black Woman (Vortex, 1969)

With Alan Silva Luna Surface (BYG Actuel, 1969) Skillfullness (ESP-Disk, 1969) Seasons (BYG Actuel, 1971)

With Bob Stewart Then & Now (Postcards, 1996) The Crave (NoBusiness Records, 2016)

With Steve Swell Soul Travelers (RogueArt, 2016)

With Clifford Thornton Ketchaoua (BYG Actuel, 1967)

With Le Tigre des platanes Disappearing (Mr Morezon, 2013)

With Patty Waters College Tour (ESP-Disk, 1966) The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings (ESP-Disk, 2006)

With Bobby Zankel Celebrating William Parker @ 65 (Not Two, 2017)

With The 360 Degree Music Experience From Ragtime to No Time (360 Records, 1975) In: Sanity (Black Saint, 1976)

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Awards
Pew Fellowship in the Arts

People in Dave Burrell's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Dave Burrell's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Dave Burrell?

American musician

When was Dave Burrell born?

Dave Burrell was born on 10 September 1940 in Middletown.

What is Dave Burrell's occupation?

Dave Burrell is a composer, pianist, jazz musician, musician and bandleader.

What nationality is Dave Burrell?

Dave Burrell is American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Dave Burrell

· Wikidata: Q485113

· DBpedia: Dave Burrell

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Dave Burrell. https://biography.guide/dave-burrell/

MLA: "Dave Burrell." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/dave-burrell/.

Chicago: "Dave Burrell." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/dave-burrell/.

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