Colorado music icon Charles Burrell, the ‘Jackie Robinson of classical music,’ dies at 104

Whatever folks knew about renowned classical and jazz bassist Charles Burrell that he was one of the first Black musicians to sign with an American symphony that he played alongside the likes of jazz greats Billie Holliday and Duke Ellington or that he was a cornerstone of Denver s music scene the man himself was exponentially more A longtime Coloradan and trailblazing musician widely considered the Jackie Robinson of classical music Burrell died early Tuesday morning in Denver from natural causes He was years old Family members knew Burrell as not only a musician who was remarkably dedicated to his craft but as someone who deeply loved and cared for his fellow man My uncle was someone who walked in excellence revealed Dianne Reeves a Grammy-winning jazz singer and Burrell s niece He was about being the best at what he did and I witnessed that Staying at his house four in the morning before the birds started chirping he would be practicing Burrell was also a true humanitarian Reeves disclosed freely giving his time skills and tools to anyone in need Almost every hospital chaplain in Denver knew him by name because he so frequently visited people who were sick Burrell s cousin and jazz pianist Purnell Steen disclosed Thursday He had the heart of a lion and the endurance of an elephant Steen disclosed He was the majority benevolent man He was invariably giving However you didn t want to cross him He was small but mighty Steen s memories of his cousin and father figure are countless from Burrell coming by for old-fashioned southern fish fries cooked by Steen s mother to Burrell s elation when he ascertained out Steen had started playing piano In one of their plenty of life training lessons Steen remembers riding a bicycle around City Park in trailing Burrell as the older man ran in high-top white canvas Keds with a smoldering pipe clenched between his teeth I had so multiple cinders in my eyes I would be crying Steen mentioned guffawing I would fall off at one and a half laps and two or three laps later he would walk up slightly winded and say Want to go play a few tennis So plenty of people recognized Burrell in part because he walked almost everywhere Steen disclosed When a camera crew once came to his home in the Skyland neighborhood for an interview they uncovered Burrell doing chin-ups in the cherry tree out front For all of his accolades Burrell never really saw himself as the giant he was Steen reported He could not grasp the magnitude of what he did He revealed All I want to do is play music Steen revealed He did not get the credibility he should have gotten he did not get the notoriety He lived for three quarters of a century in splendid obscurity and we don t want his footprint to be erased Charles Burrell celebrates his rd birthday with students at the Charles Burrell Visual and Performing Arts Campus the school named after him in Aurora on Wednesday Oct Photo by Hyoung Chang The Denver Post Burrell was born Oct in Toledo Ohio to Ruben and Denverado Burrell Raised in Detroit as one of eight children he caught the music bug early when he heard the San Francisco Symphony on his family s crystal radio according to the Colorado Music Hall of Fame Burrell honed his skills throughout high school and college as well as in the U S Navy where he played in the Navy band with trumpeter Clark Terry He was honorably discharged and moved to Denver in after realizing there was no future in the Motor City for a Black man who played classical music Steen commented That same year he signed with the Colorado Symphony then known as the Denver Symphony Orchestra Symphony leaders described him as a towering figure in American music and a Colorado icon in a report Tuesday His courage artistry and trailblazing spirit forever changed the face of classical music Charlie s legacy echoes through every note we play and will forever resonate in Denver and beyond they noted A picture of Charles Burrell as a younger man hangs on the wall of the Charles Burrell Visual and Performing Arts Campus the school named after him in Aurora on Wednesday Oct Burrell is a bass competitor who broke the color barrier as a classical musician Photo by Hyoung Chang The Denver Post Related Articles Lawmakers demand Denver company provide information about U S contracts More Safeway Albertsons workers authorize strike negotiations set to resume Gov Jared Polis new Colorado dashboard shows how much federal money President Trump has cut Man arrested on suspicion of murder in shooting near Denver s Coors Field Aurora man convicted of murder for shooting suspected teen car thieves In Burrell realized his dream of playing with the San Francisco Symphony and moved to California where he stayed for five years before returning to Colorado after the Alaska earthquake spawned a tsunami that caused extensive damage along the West Coast He performed with the Colorado Symphony until his retirement in and continued to mentor musicians frequenting shows at Dazzle Jazz and visiting with musicians who performed at the club until shortly before his death He is survived by three of his children and numerous other family members both related by blood and by heart Memorial system details have not been released Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter