Mixing pop-jazz with elements of so-called acid jazz,
Brian Tarquin has a decent collection of groove-oriented instrumental music in
Last Kiss Goodbye. The CD's main flaw is its excessive production; all too often, Tarquin's appealing, clean-sounding guitar is combined with music that is programmed when it should have been played.
Last Kiss Goodbye would have been stronger if it had more of an organic feel and sounded like the work of an actual band instead of a producer's album. But the writing isn't bad, and
Tarquin gets in some pleasant solos on such accessible, dusky offerings as "Midnight Blue," "One Arabian Night" and "Crazy Horse." Also likable is the
Pat Metheny-ish "California Summer" and Tarquin's interpretation of
Jimi Hendrix's "Third Stone From the Sun." But while
Last Kiss Goodbye has more pluses than minuses,
Tarquin is probably capable of a lot more. ~ Alex Henderson