The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Charles Burrell


Overview of the Item
	Repository:	The HistoryMakers
		1900 S. Michigan Avenue
		Chicago, Illinois 60616
		(312) 674-1900
		info@thehistorymakers.com
		http://www.thehistorymakers.com
	Interviewer:	Larry Crowe; Julieanna Richardson
	Videographer:	Scott Stearns
	Title:	Video Oral History Interview with Charles Burrell
	Dates:	June 21, 2002
	Abstract:	(ABSTRACT)
	Quantity:	5 Betacam SP videocassettes, 1 half-Hollinger box containing (NUMBER) folders of accompanying materials.
	Identification:	A2002.113
	Language:	The interviews and records are in English

Biographical Note

Charles Burrell has enjoyed an outstanding career as a classical bassist for the Denver Symphony Orchestra and is considered a master jazz bassist - one of the few musicians to have mastered both genres. Born in Toledo, Ohio, in 1920, Burrell was raised in Depression-era Detroit. His mother, Denverado, the daughter of an A.M.E. minister from Denver provided inspiration and direction despite the family's poverty.

In grade school, Burrell excelled in music. When he was twelve, he heard the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra under renowned conductor Pierre Monteux on the family's crystal radio. He resolved to play one day for an orchestra under the direction of Monteux, whom he idolized. Burrell developed his skills on the bass at Detroit's famous Cass Tech High School, where eighteen of the principal musicians of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra taught. Principal bassist Gaston Brohm agreed to teach Burrell if he would promise not to play the classics for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Burrell considers Oscar Legassy of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra his best teacher and greatest influence. After high school, Burrell landed a job playing jazz in Detroit's Paradise Valley at a club called B.J.'s.

At the start of World War II, Burrell was drafted into the all-black naval unit at Camp Robert Smalls, at Great Lakes Naval Base near Chicago. There he played in the unit's all-star band with Clark Terry, Al Grey and O. C. Johnson and took classes at Northwestern University and with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. After the war, Burrell used the G.I. Bill to attend Wayne State University in Detroit. He excelled in his music courses, but was discouraged by the racism of his advisers. In 1949, Burrell joined his mother's relatives in Denver and was soon hired by the Denver Symphony Orchestra. Eventually, he fulfilled his dream of playing for Pierre Monteux by joining the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. In 1965, he returned to the Denver Symphony Orchestra and met his wife, Melanie, a cellist.

One of the first blacks admitted to the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Burrell has mentored and taught some of the finest musicians in the country. Among his students are bassists Tony Knight of the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, Major Holly and Ray Brown. Other musicians guided by Burrell are jazz pianist George Duke and Burrell's niece, jazz vocalist Diane Reeves.

Biographical Note by The HistoryMakers®

Scope and Contents

This life oral history interview with Charles Burrell was conducted by Larry Crowe; Julieanna Richardson on 2002-06-21 in Doubletree Hotel, Denver, Colorado and is recorded on 5 30-minute Betacam SP videocassettes. Access copies exist on Betacam SP, VHS, DVD and MPEG-1. The interview contains information on (COMPLETE ONE SENTENCE DESCRIPTION OF INTERVIEW). Accompanying materials in the collection include Charles Burrell's correspondence with The HistoryMakers® related to the interview; a copy of the signed release form and the production report; the biographical information used by the interviewer to prepare for the interview (DETAILS); paper copies of the interview transcripts, 3 1/2" floppy disks with electronic copies of the transcripts; selected quotes for video clips; photocopies of photographs captured on video; XML files with metadata created in editing and cataloguing the interview for The HistoryMakers Digital Video Library; and paper copies of these XML files.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Access to paper records is restricted. Other restrictions may be applied on a case-by-case basis.

Restrictions on Use

All use of materials must be pre-approved by The HistoryMakers® and appropriate credit must be given. All use credits must be pre-approved by The HistoryMakers®. Copyright is held by The HistoryMakers®.


Index Terms
	This record series is indexed under the following controlled access terms.
	Contributors:
		Burrell, Charles
		Crowe, Larry
		Richardson, Julieanna
		Stearns, Scott
	Persons:
		(PERSONS)
	Corporate Bodies:
		(CORPORATE BODIES)
	Family Names:
		Burrell
	Places:
		(PLACES)
	Subjects:
		(SUBJECTS)
	Document Types:
		Video oral history interview
	Titles:
		The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Charles Burrell

Related Material

Accompanying materials: Accompanying materials are filed in (NUMBER) folders in a half-Hollinger box and shelved at The HistoryMakers® Archives and Collection Library by accession number, separately from the videos.

Administrative Information

Location of Originals

Betacam, VHS, DVD and MPEG-1 access copies are held for in-house use at The HistoryMakers®; Betacam SP, VHS and DVD playback hardware is provided for in-house viewing of the access copies; MPEG-1 copies are searchable and viewable via a digital video database.

Preferred Citation

The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Charles Burrell, June 21, 2002. The HistoryMakers® African American Video Oral History Collection, 1900 S. Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois.

Detailed Description/Tape Listings

Video Oral History Interview with Charles Burrell, Tape 1, June 21, 2002, TRT: 00:29:17.

Bass player Charles Burrell talks about his parents' origins and the hardships the family faced while living in a segregated area of Detroit. He then talks about his siblings' accomplishments and failures and coping with an absentee father. Burrell also details his Detroit neighborhood and shares his first exposure to music. He then talks about his personality as a child and what he and his siblings did to pass the time. Burrell then reflects on his mother's personality and her influence on the family. Lastly, he talks about his first exposure to classical music at age twelve.

Video Oral History Interview with Charles Burrell, Tape 2, June 21, 2002, TRT: 00:29:15:00.

Charles Burrell talks about his siblings and his weight concerns as a child. He then details the schools he attended in Detroit and the musical education he received while at Cass Technical High School. Burrell then shares the story of when he decided to become a professional musician and recalls the racial climate of the 1930s that prevented him from pursuing a classical career. He then details the neighborhood of Paradise Valley in Detroit and the first steady job he received as a jazz bassist. Burrell reflects on his high school music teachers and their discriminatory behavior towards him. Lastly Burrell details his military service in World War II as part of the first all-black naval training unit in Great Lakes, Illinois. He then recalls all the famous jazz musicians who were enlisted with him.

Video Oral History Interview with Charles Burrell, Tape 3, June 21, 2002, TRT: 03:29:10:04.

Charles Burrell details his music experiences while in the Navy in Illinois, and the social cliques formed by the band members. He then talks about the orchestral experience he obtained while on furlough and how it prepared him for his music education at Wayne State University in Detroit. He then recounts the discriminatory behavior he encountered at Wayne that caused him to leave college and move to Denver. Next he talks about his experiences in Denver as a bassist with the Denver Symphony Orchestra and details a story about the discriminatory behavior he faced while on tour in the mid-1950s. Burrell talks about his ex-wives and recalls the Jim Crow laws he faced when he traveled to Alabama to court his first wife. He then reflects on the relationships he had with all of his in-laws. Burrell then fondly recalls the highlights of his career and the moment he fulfilled his lifelong dream, one that he'd had since he was twelve years old. Lastly, Burrell talks about his music technique and more recent noted bass players.

Video Oral History Interview with Charles Burrell, Tape 4, June 21, 2002, TRT: 00:28:56:04.

Charles Burrell talks about his career move from the Denver Symphony Orchestra to the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. He then talks about the some of the unfavorable aspects of competition amongst musicians within the orchestra. Burrell then reflects on more noted music students he instructed over the years. Later he discusses the treatment of blacks in the mostly white classical music industry, and shares a story about the mistreatment of a fellow orchestra member. He then talks about the importance of a well-balanced Classics education and his disappointment in the few number of blacks in the industry. Burrell talks about his friend and mentor, jazz bassist Al McKibbon and talks extensively about the different styles of jazz music. He talks more about McKibbon and details how their differing attitudes about race relations influenced their career paths. Lastly he gives his opinion about today's classical music scene.

Video Oral History Interview with Charles Burrell, Tape 5, June 21, 2002, TRT: 00:25:20:09.

Charles Burrell discusses his practice regimen, now that he has retired from the orchestra. He then talks about his encounters with the jazz musician Charles Mingus, and his belief that Mingus's inability to deal with race hurt his career. He then briefly talks about his grandmother with whom he lived on his early move to Denver. Burrell recalls the work atmosphere in the symphony in the 1950s and the exercise regimen that allowed him to play bass for forty years. He then reflects on how he might be remembered and his legacy. Lastly, he discusses the photographs he provided.