With 1990's near-fatal boating accident now well behind him, Nestor Torres offered up this package of Latin-accented, hip-hop-tinged smooth jazz, assembling 11 tracks with several producers and production teams. In contrast to his previous album, My Latin Soul, a collection of Latin standards, most of the material here comes from Torres in league with his production staff. The two numbers that are not originals are "Contigo Apprendi," where Torres' flute dances particularly playfully at the close, and the Alejandro Sanz Latin hit "Regálame la Silla Donde Te Espere." Yet the further one explores this collection, the less one becomes involved with the soft-focused keyboards and softcore electronically programmed rhythms. Torres is always easy on the ear, impeccable in technique, occasionally evoking the then-recently departed ghost of Herbie Mann. But this material is pitched only slightly above the level of pleasant, slightly funky background music for driving along the Florida coast -- or any coast. Also available in SACD multi-channel Surround Sound.
© Richard S. Ginell /TiVo