Breakstone is a fine bop-oriented guitarist, well known after years of recording dates. He knows his instrument and melody, and has an economical sense in terms of phrasing. On this studio recording, though, he performs as if he were in a club or at a concert: compositions linger endlessly, averaging about seven to nine minutes. It gets a bit tedious to listen to, but perhaps stone-cold guitar lovers and mavens of the
Jim Hall,
Joe Pass, and
Pat Martino crowd will enjoy
Breakstone's ramblings. There's also a bit of a hollow sound to the overall production values. Nonetheless, this is good, modern, mainstream music played by the leader, Pittsburgh piano icon Sid Simmons, bassist Dennis Irwin, and drummer Kenny Washington. There's not much that distinguishes each of the eight selections except tempo. On "Bebop,"
Breakstone uses slight note lines and clusters, delicately balancing the small sound with the urgent beat supplied by Irwin and Washington. "Come Fly with Me" is the most compact and urgent swing, while the title track utilizes the most invention on a 12-16-12 bar blues swing figure. "Stop" uses halting, tacit tactics from the rhythm section -- very cleverly conceived -- while the lighter tunes, "Three O' Clock in the Morning" and the ballad "Everything I Have Is Yours," have neat quotes, the former "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," the latter "In a Sentimental Mood." Dishearteningly, the final two selections verge on annoying: "Betrayal" is a spiteful swipe at
Breakstone's ex-wife, and "Felicidade" is a Latin-tinged number that drones endlessly and could easily have been dropped or cut in half. This CD is a perfect example that less is more, and that adding ad infinitum only serves to lessen the effect of what would otherwise be a much better outing. Lesson: edit thyself. ~ Michael G. Nastos