While its title and cover certainly suggest a record firmly in the bachelor pad/lounge music camp,
Cool and Sparkling: The Liquid Sounds of Paul Smith nevertheless boasts a melodic ingenuity and technical emphasis that reward deeper listening. What keyboardist
Smith dubs "liquid sound" is in fact a space-age pop precursor to soul-jazz, with an energy and groove all its own. Aided by clarinetist
Abe Most, guitarist
Tony Rizzi, and bassist
Sam Cheifitz,
Smith is too good a player and too clever a composer to settle for mere background music -- structure is as important here as sound, and while
Cool and Sparkling blends effortlessly with its surroundings, it never sacrifices substance for style.