Jazz / Pop; Latin Jazz; Jazz-Pop
Recorded: The Carriage House, Stamford, Connecticut; Brooke Sound, Irvington, New York; The Wharehouse and Avatar, New York, New York; Rush Hour Studio, Altdorf, Germany.
An improvement on tenor saxophonist Gato Barbieri's previous Columbia debut, this outing mostly features his romantic and passionate horn in the spotlight. One song is primarily a vocal feature for Gato. His backup band (which usually includes bassist Mark Egan and guitarist Chuck Loeb) is generally quite spirited, but it is the tenor who stars throughout. Even when sticking to the melody (Gato and Loeb wrote most of the material), there is so much feeling in Barbieri's playing that he largely possesses each song, even an oddly memorable rendition of "Auld Lang Syne." And, although the performances are a bit commercial in spots, Barbieri's sincere emotionalism consistently uplifts this recording.
---Scott Yanow, allmusic
Includes liner notes by Gato Barbieri.
Gato Barbieri - tenor saxophone
Chuck Loeb - conductor, guitar
Frank McComb - vocals
Mitchel Forman - piano
Bill O'Connell - piano
Mike Ricchiuti - keyboards
Will Lee - bass
Ron Jenkins - bass
Mark Egan - bass
Mario Rodriguez - bass
John Beale - bass
Lionel Cordew - drums
Wolfgang Haffner - drums
Robbie Gonzalez - drums
Dave Rataczek - drums
David Charles - percussion
Sam Figueroa - percussion
Richie Flores - percussion
Carmen Cuesta - background vocals
Peter Valentine - background vocals |
