Bass player Charles Burrell was born in 1920, and vividly remembers being about 12 years old and being on fire for music. He said in an interview in The Denverite that he would practice three or four hours a day, and that he kept up that pace until he was 20 years old. He took two days off from playing, and says, “I nearly went crazy.” You can watch that feature interview on Charles Burrell using the link below. When Charles Burrell joined what was then called The Denver Symphony Orchestra, he became the first African American person to be a member of a major American symphony. He later became a member of the San Francisco Symphony from 1959-1964. Mr. Burrell celebrated his 103rd birthday in October 2023. The trailblazing classical (and jazz) instrumentalist provides today’s Beautiful Music — some of his jazz wisdom!
PHOTOS: Charles Burrell, who broke color barrier as a classical musician, celebrates 103rd birthday at Aurora school named after him