and first worked together at The Allen Room at New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center for two nights in 2007, and while at first it would seem to be an odd pairing, it really isn't: 's singing and guitar playing have always fallen well to the jazz side of country all along anyway, and he's hardly been a garden variety hat act during his long career, while has long worked to reintroduce jazz as a viable popular form in American music. It's about synthesis, really, and so it makes perfect sense for to turn to the music of , one of the greatest assimilators of American pop music -- all forms of it, from gospel to blues, country, jazz, and R&B-for their encore shows at the heralded jazz house -- this time for two sold-out nights at Rose Theater in February 2009 with special guest . arranged the music as both an homage to and as a loose song cycle about the ups and downs of love, and backed by his working quintet of tenor saxophonist , pianist , bassist , and drummer , plus 's longtime harmonica player , it all feels wonderfully appropriate, with ' standards like and his iconic signature hit, all sounding comfortable and fresh. The only thing missing is himself, who undoubtedly would have had no trouble fitting into these shows. Radio now splits everything into little niches. That isn't what was about. He saw music as convergence. This fine concert album plays in that same spirit. ~ Steve Leggett