Following her successful collaborations with Richard Egarr and Andrew Lawrence-King world-famous recorder player Pamela Thorby teams up with renowned lutenist Elizabeth Kenny for her fourth solo album on Linn, ‘The Nightingale and the Butterfly’, a sparkling exploration of French Baroque music.
This one-night-only concert event taping brought together fans, friends and music icons to celebrate Kenny Rogers’ final farewell to Nashville. All In For The Gambler featured performances by Dolly Parton, Alison Krauss, Chris Stapleton, Don Henley, Elle King, Idina Menzel, Jamey Johnson, Lady A, Lionel Richie, Little Big Town, Kris Kristofferson, Reba McEntire, The Flaming Lips, The Judds, Wynonna, The Oak Ridge Boys, and Kenny Rogers along with many other special guests.
Kenny Burrell's guitaristry is well-documented in his years with Oscar Peterson and on his first dates as a leader on the Blue Note label, but God Bless the Child, his only date for CTI in 1971, is an under-heard masterpiece in his catalog. Burrell's band for the set includes bassist Ron Carter, percussionist Ray Barretto, Richard Wyands on piano, flutist Hubert Laws, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, and drummer Billy Cobham. CTI's house arranger, Don Sebesky, assembled and conducted the strings in a manner that stands strangely and beautifully apart from his other work on the label. Sebesky understood Burrell's understated approach to playing guitar.
Kenny Dorham had a deeply moving, pure tone on trumpet; his sound was clear, sharp, and piercing, especially during ballads. He could spin out phrases and lines, but when he slowly and sweetly played the melody it was an evocative event. Dorham was a gifted all-round trumpeter, but seldom showcased his complete skills, preferring an understated, subtle approach. Unfortunately, he never received much publicity, and though a highly intelligent, thoughtful individual who wrote insightful commentary on jazz, he's little more than a footnote to many fans.