Herb Geller is one of the top alto saxophonists of the 1990s and early 21st century, even though he has not been that well-known in the United States since emigrating to Europe in the early '60s; he has been playing steadily overseas in the four decades since. This particular CD, a set of duets with pianist Brian Kellock, finds Geller performing 20 of his originals, all of which are named after vintage movie actresses. It may be an impossible task, but none of the songs really evoke its title, making the names a bit of a ...
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Herb Geller is one of the top alto saxophonists of the 1990s and early 21st century, even though he has not been that well-known in the United States since emigrating to Europe in the early '60s; he has been playing steadily overseas in the four decades since. This particular CD, a set of duets with pianist Brian Kellock, finds Geller performing 20 of his originals, all of which are named after vintage movie actresses. It may be an impossible task, but none of the songs really evoke its title, making the names a bit of a frivolity. Does "Grace Kelly" really sound more like that actress than the song "Mae West"? Despite that shortcoming, Geller (who plays soprano on five of the 20 numbers) plays quite well, although it is doubtful that any of the swinging but not overly memorable tunes will become standards in the future. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi
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