Hal Galper decided upon a lighter touch on this trio date, which focuses primarily on ballads that were popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Accompanied by bassist Wayne Dockery and drummer Steve Ellington, Galper takes a breezy approach to Duke Ellington's "Love You Madly," giving the tune a bop flavor, although Ellington's brushwork keeps it swinging. "Flamingo" is transformed into a perky bossa nova, while Galper has used his whispering interpretation of "Ebb Tide" to get noisy nightclub audiences to simmer down. The one exception to the theme of this session is the robust take of Miles Davis' cooking "Solar." One of many great CDs by Hal Galper, it was unfortunately deleted from the Concord catalog around the time that the label was sold by founder Carl Jefferson's family. ~ Ken Dryden, All Music Guide
Hal Galper (Performer), Carl Jefferson (Producer), David Zychek (Liner Notes), George Horn (Mastering), Hal Galper (Piano), Steve Ellington (?), John Burk (Production Coordination), Steve Ellington (Drums), Kent Judkins (Art Direction), Wayne Dockery (?), Allen Farnham (Producer), Kent Heckman (Engineer), Phil Edwards (Assembly), Carl Jefferson (Executive Producer), John Francis Bourke (Photography), Wayne Dockery (Bass)
