Doug Webb may be best known for his earlier work co-leading various trios with drummer Mat Marucci, in addition to recording with Horace Silver, Bill Holman, Bud Shank, Stanley Clarke, Sal Marquez, and others. Midnight marks the first CD solely under his name and it is everything one would expect from an album mostly devoted to ballads. Accompanying are pianist Larry Goldings (with Joe Bagg or Mahesh Balasooriya subbing on three tracks), Stanley Clarke on acoustic bass, and drummer Gerry Gibbs. Webb's big tone on tenor is matched by his lyricism, never overplaying his hand yet keeping things interesting. The saxophonist's lush, spacious playing in Alec Wilder's sentimental "I'll Be Around" (long a part of Marian McPartland's repertoire) is perfectly accompanied by Goldings' dreamy piano. Webb is a bit more forceful in his interpretation of "You Go to My Head," played as a duo with Goldings, wrapped with a majestic coda by the leader. Clarke's sublime solo is a highlight of the easygoing treatment of "Fly Me to the Moon." Webb switches to soprano sax for several tracks, including his breezy, slightly off-kilter interpretation of "The Boy Next Door" and deliberate rendition of Johnny Mandel's modern standard "Emily," as well as his playful medium-tempo setting of Charlie Parker's bop vehicle "Quasimodo." This superb session will expose new audiences to Doug Webb's considerable talent.