Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. Atlantic. 2007.

2006-09-23 -- 4/5:: A Solid Album Missing Something!
As a fan of the lyrical side of jazz, I like this album fine. But as a fan of lyrical jazz, I am also aware that sometimes lyriclsm can come at the expense of that "bite" necessary to hold a listener's interest. I cannot say that this album is flat, but would certainly suggest that it is not one in which there is a whole lot of excitement, either. A very safe album.

But I did give it four stars (closer to three-and-a-half) so let's focus on the good stuff first.

First, if you are a fan of lyrical jazz of the ilk so often neglected by chops-driven bebop, this is a very good album for you. Such melodic players as John Lewis and Frenchmen Barney Wilen (ts) and Sacha Distel (gtr) make this album very easy to listen to. Lewis creates terse piano lines and comping throughout, while Wilen and Distel produce some very wistful (in a good way) and melodically rich solos. the rhythm section (MJQ"s Connie Kay (dr) amd Percy Heath (b)) show that they can swing with deceptive and slick quietude. (Just listen to "Willow Weep for Me" which grooves hard while retaining great sensitivity.)

The problem is that when ALL of the players subscribe to the same 'minimalist' soloing and comping style, an album often falls flat. One of the things that made the MJQ work so well, for instance, was the contrast between the winding chopsy style of Jackson's vibes and the terse, economical style of Lewis's piano. [The same could be said for Brubeck and Desmond.] Here, there is no such contrast. All of the players are the type who terse and economical. And while that can lead to an album of good soloing, it does not leave any internal tension in the music. Sometimes, this means that good music occasionally becomes monotonous, as is the case here.

But I do give the album four stars (would have preferred three and a half). the music is solid and Lewis is quite inventive in his piano intros to songs. The song choices themselves were also good, all of which are open enough to lend themselves well to lyricism. If you are a fan of the more melodically driven approach to jazz - as opposed to chops-infused bebop - this is a good album to hear. But it is by no means a great album. (For that, I would suggest MJQ's "Django" or Paul Desmond's "Easy Living.")