Song Rig

Blues for Smoky

Kenny Burrell · Kenny Burrell · 1957

Tone Overview

What Makes This Sound Unique

Burrell's earliest Blue Note recording — a faster, more bebop-influenced blues that shows his technical range before the more restrained Midnight Blue soul-jazz approach. The ES-175 tone of 1957 has a slightly brighter, more metallic quality than the later warmer ES-335 recordings.

Signal Chain

1Gibson ES-175 (1957 model, floating single pickup)
2Clean studio amp

Amp Settings

Gain / Volume1

Bass6

Mid7

Treble7

Slightly brighter than Midnight Blue — the ES-175's floating pickup has a different frequency response than the ES-335's neck pickup, with more bite and less warmth.

Technique

How to Play It

Bebop blues — Blues for Smoky uses bebop scale vocabulary (chromatic approach notes, bebop scales) over a 12-bar blues form, creating a more harmonically sophisticated blues than the soul-jazz simplicity of Midnight Blue.

Budget Alternative

Achievable With

ES-175 or similar archtop → clean amp → practice bebop vocabulary over 12-bar blues: replace the standard minor pentatonic scale approach with major-key bebop scales that target chord tones on strong beats.

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