Leon The Extraordinary

"The Union" is a unique collaboration of two of the most talented artists in the music business. Combining forces and fusing diverse talents, John and Russell along with T. Bone Burnett have produced an extraordinary album. Recorded live in the studio with John and Russell on dueling pianos, the album features a variety of musical genres from R&B, soul, gospel, country, pop and rock. Icons Neil Young and Brian Wilson provide guest vocals on the 16-track record along with legendary R&B organist Booker T. Jones, steel guitarist Robert Randolph and a 10-piece gospel choir. Cameron Crowe has filmed the sessions for a documentary, creating too a moment of history as this is the first time that the genesis of Elton's music has been recorded on film. Critics who have had an early preview of the album are united in praise for the work that Elton describes as a "Seventies record with a modern feel".

The Six made their first appearance in 1954 at Jimmy Ryan’s, the New York club located on 52nd Street. The group was the brainchild of clarinetist and saxophonist Bob Wilber, Sidney Bechet protégé and leader of the Wildcats, a Dixieland group he put together while he was in Scarsdale High in 1946. He would later go on to study with Lenny Tristano and Leon Russianoff.
Wilber and two of his former Wildcats bandmates ―trumpeter Johnny Glasel and drummer Ed Phyfe― joined three newcomers ―pianist Tommy Goodman, trombonist Porky Cohen, and bassist Bob Petersen and became The Six. Right from the start, their credo was to play without regard to the restrictions of schools or styles. And as a unit, they were a decidedly cooperative organization, with no one member being the leader.

These two albums are almost perfectly suited to each other, representating the peak of the Temptations' early- to mid-'70s output. "A Song for You" was a rare Berry Gordy co-production (necessitated by Norman Whitfield's departure from the company) Gordy and Jimmy Bowen came up with an album that combined a powerful, funky beat with gorgeous singing (especially by Dennis Edwards) and a range of superb songs. These tapes sound extraordinary on this release, like they're really being heard properly for the first time. "Masterpiece" was precisely that for producer Whitfield, comprised of just six songs, every one of them a winner, including the epic-length title song, possibly the best extended track ever to come out of Motown Records. The two albums fit together almost seamlessly (though one wishes that "Masterpiece"'s tracks were first on the disc), and the only flaw is that there are no expanded notes or album credits.