Two brilliant singer-songwriter-pianists have just finished an album together and christened it with a duo concert in New York City. Elton John and Leon Russell recently released their well-received Union album, and the concert was by all accounts a triumph.
John has long acknowledged Russell as a major influence on his music, and John’s early albums showed a strong fondness for Russell’s joyful gospel-rock sound and a laudable musical adventurousness that belied John’s pop-artist reputation.