Denver Honors local musical pioneer Charlie Burrell for MLK Jr. Day
On Monday, Colorado will join the nation in honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but Friday Denver took a moment to celebrate another man in honor of Dr. King's legacy.
Charlie Burrell was the man of honor at the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Business Awards held in downtown Denver. At 102 years old he is retired now, but back in his day he was a musical giant.
"He was a pathfinder and opened up the path for other people to follow him," said his cousin and fellow musician Purnell Steen.
Burrell grew up loving classical music and played standup bass in jazz bands and at his school in the symphony, but he says his professional symphony career was thanks to pure chance.
"Oh, that's a very simple story. A fluke," said Burrell.
After being in the Navy, in 1949 Burrell got a job at Fitzsimmons Hospital. One day on the streetcar home from work he saw a man with a peculiar-looking case.
"Charlie asked him if that were a case for a bass violin bow," said Steen.
It was, and the man happened to be John VanBuskirk, the principal bassist for the Denver Symphony. After talking with Burrell, VanBuskirk was so impressed that he invited Burrell to try out for an open position.
"So, Charlie went and interviewed, and he had this long exhaustive interview," said Steen.
Burrell got the gig and was the first Black musician in the world to be hired to play in a symphony. His cousin says it was a terrific opportunity but a tough position to be in. Especially on the night of his debut.
"There were people saying, 'oh my God, what have what did they doing?' You would have thought that World War 3 had just erupted on the stage. 'They hired a negro'," said Steen.
He went on to build a very successful symphony career. He played with the Denver Symphony for 10 years. In 1959 he drove to Los Angeles to study with the Principal Bassist of the Boston Pops. Soon after Burrell drove to San Francisco to audition for the San Francisco Symphony and was offered a contract.
In addition to playing for 50 years with the symphony orchestras, he was a regular at the Rossonian and other Black music venues in Denver. Burrell is the only living musician to have played with Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Benny Goodman, and other jazz and blues greats.
Steen says he opened the door for other Black musicians.
"He made it possible for people of color to step out on a stage," said Steen.
Now 75 years later he was recognized among six others for his accomplishments. While he doesn't play anymore, one thing he hasn't lost is his sense of humor.
When asked how he felt about winning an award for his work he said, "I feel like it's outrageous. I can't believe This is really me. I'd rather have a hot dog!"
