Kenny Burrell
's guitaristry is well-documented 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
.
'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
's understated approach to playing guitar;
didn't belong with the fusioneers, but he could groove better than any of them.
built a moody, atmospheric soundscape behind him, one that was as impressionistic as it was illuminating of a player who could dig in and chop it up -- as he does on his own composition, "Love Is the Answer," and
"Do What You Gotta Do"
-- and stroke it smooth and mellow, as on the title track, the truly sublime
"Be Yourself,"
and
Thad Jones
'
"A Child Is Born."
This is
at his level best as a player, to be sure, but also as a composer and as a bandleader. Magnificent. ~ Thom Jurek