This tasteful album is the first solo-guitar outing in Kenny Burrell's long archive, a surprising fact since for many years his live sets have contained examples of his unaccompanied skills. Warmly received by an intimate Californian repertory-theatre audience, it all comes together beautifully here. Pacing the performance with care, Kenny takes his Heritage semi-acoustic and a two round-hole acoustics on a suave trip through the highlights of his distinguished career. Duke Ellington once referred to Burrell as his favourite guitarist, a compliment Kenny repays with an unhackneyed medley of Ducal classics including ‘Come Sunday’, ‘Star-crossed Lovers’ and ‘Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me’. In his early years Kenny worked with Billie Holiday, prompting a similar tribute involving ‘Don't Explain’ and ‘But Beautiful’. He occasionally sings himself, offering one vocal here, his own song ‘Be Yourself’. There's also a nimble bossa-nova, an original dedicated to Wes Montgomery and many of Kenny's favourite ballads – ‘A Child Is Born’, ‘Come Rain or Come Shine’, ‘Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most’ – executed with typically unhurried expertise, rich chord voicings and Kenny's customary attention to tonal warmth. You never hear an ugly or ill-considered note from him, and he's not about to change now.