Written entirely for violin, orchestra, band and voices and inspired by the elements air, earth, fire and water, Nigel Kennedy’s Four Elements takes the listener on a multi-genre musical journey of exhilaration, contemplation and celebration. This work is a suite of pieces which Nigel originally conceived as his own 21st-century response to Vivaldi’s baroque masterpiece in the sense of creating programmatic, pictorial music based on an underlying theme. A notable new ingredient in the mix is the electronic drum programming by Damon Reece, who has worked with Massive Attack and Goldfrapp. Singers featured on the album include Zee Gachette and Xantoné Blaq, a former member of Amy Winehouse’s band.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, the trumpeter Dizzy Reece moved to London at age 17 and began working across Europe, frequently in Paris, where he played with the likes of Don Byas and Kenny Clarke. Reece also made fans of Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins who spread the word about a hot new trumpeter on the European scene. So when Donald Byrd and Art Taylor came through Paris on tour in 1958 they sought out Reece and even found their way into the recording studio together for what would become Reece's Blue Note debut Blues In Trinity. Encouraged by Alfred Lion, Reece would move to New York City the next year where Lion quickly put him back in the studio with a first-rate hard bop band including Hank Mobley on tenor saxophone, Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Taylor once again on drums. The resulting album Star Bright is a hidden gem of the Blue Note catalog with Reece shining brightly on a 6-song set that included several of his own bluesy originals like "The Rake," "Groovesville," "The Rebound," and the Thelonious Monk inspired "A Variation On Monk." Two standards round out the offering with swinging takes on "I'll Close My Eyes" and "I Wished On The Moon," both of which showcase Reece's sublime delivery of a melody.