The Life of Charlie Burrell:
Breaking the Color Barrier in Classical Music
by Charlie Burrell
and
Mitch Handelsman
Music historian G. Brown writes:
The "Jackie Robinson" of Classical Music ~ Charlie Burrell
In
a precedent-setting career, Burrell excelled in both the classical and
jazz musical worlds and broke down racial barriers along the way.
Born
in 1920, Burrell grew up in Detroit, Michigan. In the seventh grade, he
gravitated to the contrabass, practicing classical music four to eight
hours a day while also honing his skills as a jazz player. He developed
his abilities at Detroit’s famous Cass Tech High School and had regular
jazz gigs once he turned 17. In 1941, Burrell joined the Navy. Stationed
at Camp Robert Smalls outside of Chicago, he was selected to join the
first-ever all-black Navy band. Following his honorable discharge, he
enrolled at Wayne State University, but was told by administrators that
he would not find a job teaching music in the public schools. Burrell
then moved to Denver and landed a job in 1949 with the Denver Symphony
Orchestra (now the Colorado Symphony), making him the first person of
color under contract with a major orchestra. In the meantime, he was a
regular at jazz clubs in Denver’s historic Five Points neighborhood.
When he was 40, Burrell became the first black musician to join the San
Francisco Symphony—he was called the Jackie Robinson of classical
music—and was one of the first black professors at the San Francisco
Conservatory of Music. Burrell returned to Denver in 1965, rejoined the
Denver Symphony and played until retiring with the Colorado Symphony in
1999. Throughout his career, Burrell was the top on-call jazz bassist in
Denver, sharing the stage with Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Erroll
Garner, Lionel Hampton and many other legends. He mentored countless
musicians and groomed his niece, Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Dianne
Reeves. He received a Martin Luther King, Jr. humanitarian award in
2015.
San Francisco Symphony video, just released:
Colorado Public Radio talking with Charlie Burrell in 2006:
2015 video feature done by Denver music historian, G. Brown:
Link on Amazon to his 2016 autobiography, "Charlie Burrell ~ Breaking the Color Barrier in Classical Music"
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