Veteran guitar master Bertoncini is at full powers in this wonderful trio set. Joined by Akira Tana on drums, and Rufus Reid on bass, this is a tasty set. Whether playing beautiful solo guitar on cuts like "Edeweiss" (I confess, this isn't a tune I think of when I think of jazz guitar), or swinging hard like the last half of "The Shadow Of Your Smile," Gene really shows off his chops.

The beautiful thing about his playing is it's very melodic, but still full of ideas. Bertoncini's instrument of choice is the nylon-string guitar which also helps set him apart a bit. The sound is soft where it needs to be, but when he swings, it lets him really fly. For a capsule of all this, just listen to "Theme from The Summer Of '42." It has a beautiful opening, with a mix of melody and gorgeous chord changes. The bass ends up joining in, using a bow that gives the tune a terric dramatic effect. Then about 4 1/2 minutes in it turns into a neice samba, with great bass and guitar playing.

The whole album is like that. It's a definite mood setter in that it's very quiet. But, it's never boring. Each tune, most which you'll be familiar with, takes interesting turns.

— John Heidt
© 2004 Vintage Guitar