Soft and sensuous, saxophonist
Barney Wilen runs gently through eight French movie soundtracks, with the Mal Waldron Trio behind him.
Wilen came to international attention decades before with his work with
Miles Davis, and several of the themes here were actually written by the trumpeter.
Wilen has been criticized for sounding tired on this recording, and, in fact, his sound does sometimes sound somewhat sleepy, though often attractively so. In ways, this sounds a bit like
Stan Getz minus some oomph. The results are lazily appealing, the sort of melodies that might be soothing after a long day. This is not to imply, though, that
Wilen is anything less than a very strong jazz performer, as his phrasing and choice of notes are smack dab in the middle of the jazz tradition. Yet, even when he builds tension, as he likes to do on his soprano, it has the feel of being held back. He is best heard on tenor, and on those tracks his lilting, soft forays usually hit the mark. Waldron is an oddly sympathetic voice, so much so that the music is often in danger of drifting to paradise.