Jazz legend Kenny Burrell requesting help with medical bills among other things*

Man, tough times for musicians:
[Moderator note: GoFundMe links not allowed by forum rules]
[Moderator note: Veracity of claims recently called into question: Jazz legend Kenny Burrell requesting help with medical bills among other things* ]

 

I made my small contribution. One of the greats. Stuff like this shouldn't happen to anyone, especially in one's old age.

 

Thanks for the post. I donated. Least I could do for all the joy his music has brought me.

 

Thanks for posting.

-s1m0n-

 

Wow. That's about as sad as it gets. Thanks for posting. I just shared on FB and will make a donation in the morning. Hoping they reach the goal very soon.

 

Man, what a drag to hear about all of this misfortune for Mr. Burrell and his wife. I made a donation. I see the great pianist Ahmad Jamal donated 500 dollars. Bless his heart!

 

This is really sad. Nobody should have to go through this. I will donate in the morning.

 

I’m making a donation in the morning too. That’s a heartbreaker at the age. He brought a lot of joy to me thru his playing.

 

how sad. it's awful. i hope my eventual demise and accompanying decline will not be prolonged.

godspeed and best wishes mr burrell.

 

This is so unjust. Kenny is amazing. I love his playing. He was right there with Barney Kessell. I donated. That's one of the nice thing about living in LA. So many great clubs with so many great artists. I used to go to Jimmy Smith's Supper Club all the time. Now it's a dry cleaners. No one can imagine what happened in that building.

I hope Kenny and his wife don't go homeless. There is no way, I can't believe that people aren't jumping out of the woodwork to help him.

 

I must do my part. I owe it to him.

 

Wow! Ahmad Jamal donated. He has to be 90 by now. Wow!

 

Signing my CDs at Yoshi's in 2010.

 

Plus one!

 

I will donate. A big influence on me and every guitar player alive.
How does this happen?

 

Thanks for posting.

 

Where is Blue Note in all this? They should be first in line to shore up the finances of the Burrell family. They can certainly afford it, and while they may not "owe" him anything financially, the man sold a lot of records for them over the years. Come on, Don Was, do the right thing!

 

I'm pretty sure this is legit thankfully.

 

Blue Note rt'd JazzTimes article about the GoFundMe on Twitter, which probably raised awareness.

 

Thanks for sharing. Donated.

 

FYI - You might want to hold off on donating until the legitimacy of this GoFundMe account is verified.

I was just looking for a second source to confirm Mr Burrell's condition/situation, and ran across this thread in the JazzTimes Twitter Feed: JazzTimes Magazine on Twitter

Text from the tweet:
JazzTimes Magazine‏ @JazzTimes 6h6 hours ago
We now have reason to doubt the legitimacy of that supposed GoFundMe page for Kenny Burrell we posted about earlier today. If you've been thinking of contributing, please hold off until we can get the full story.

 

Very sad to hear this, but not altogether surprising. If Levon Helm, a member of a band that achieved international success, could end up unable to pay his medical bills, you get some perspective on how someone in the less highly-remunerated area of jazz might end up. Unlike Levon, I don't think KB went in for high-living, though.

 

Thanks for this important update. I hope people see your post before giving more...

 

Kenny's career was not just Blue Note. Prestige,Chess/Cadet, Fantasy,Verve,Muse,Concord,HighNote-all have Burrell goodies. Add to that catalog,folks should look for the Project G-7 CDs in tribute to Wes Montgomery,where Kenny plays a major part on both,including an all-star jam at the end on each (another CD,Project G-5,sans Burrell,but still a nice bunch of musicians onboard).
In all of this,whether the need for medical funds is true or not,one hopes royalties due him over the years made it to the mailbox.
I see that there are a couple of boxes of Burrell material from the bad Real Gone,where no royalties are likely paid. Like so much of modern days,it may be legal,but it is unethical. Some folks treat this kind of stuff like it is a windfall for buyers,but it is wrong,wrong,wrong.