God Bless The Child

Kenny Burrell's guitar artistry 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 catalogue. 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.