1971 · Album
God Bless the Child
Recorded 1971 · CTI · Produced by Not specified in available sources
Burrell Composing and Leading at Full Strength
Burrell at his level best as a player, composer, and bandleader — magnificent work across the board.
God Bless the Child arrived in 1971 as a showcase for Kenny Burrell operating at full creative capacity. The AllMusic review noted it was "Burrell at his level best as a player to be sure, but also as a composer and as a bandleader. Magnificent" — a reading that caught what made this record matter. It was not a sideman session or a standard guitar-plus-strings date. Burrell was steering the ship, writing the material, and playing with purpose.
The album sits comfortably within Burrell's body of work as a strong middle-period statement, neither a debut declaration nor a retrospective, but evidence that his compositional voice had matured alongside his playing. By 1971 he had already proven himself as both a session player and a bandleader, and this record let both talents work in concert. The CTI release put him in company with the label's other soul-jazz and sophisticated pop-leaning artists, which meant the music was designed to reach listeners beyond the hard-core jazz audience without sacrificing depth.
What makes this worth hearing now is straightforward: the playing is clean and purposeful, the writing shows a real hand, and there is no padding or filler. If you want to understand Burrell as more than a hired gun, this is one of the places to start.
Who's playing
Ron Carterbass
Richard Wyandspiano
Hugh Lawsonpiano
Kenny Burrellelectric guitar
Freddie Hubbardtrumpet
Billy Cobhamdrums
Ray Barrettopercussion
Airto Moreirapercussion
Seymour Barabcello
Charles McCrackencello
Lucien Schmitcello
Alan Shulmancello
George Riccicello
Where next?
More by Kenny Burrell
Introducing Kenny Burrell 1956
Midnight Blue 1963
Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane 1963
♫
Jazzmen: Detroit 1956
The musicians on this record
Red Clay 1970
Freddie Hubbard
plays trumpet here
plays trumpet here
Spectrum 1973
Billy Cobham
plays drums (drum set) here
plays drums (drum set) here
Uptown Conversation 1969
Ron Carter
plays bass here
plays bass here
♫
Virgin Land 1974
Airto Moreira
plays percussion here
plays percussion here
