A major altoist on the West Coast jazz scene in the 1950s,
Charlie Mariano moved to Europe in the '60s. Other than occasional brief returns to straight-ahead jazz,
Mariano has mostly explored world music, fusion and other styles of music since that time.
Innuendo features
Mariano improvising in a trio with keyboardist
Jasper van't Hof and drummer-percussionist
Marilyn Mazur. Although
van't Hof's piano solos are fine, his synth gives an easy listening new age feel to much of the music, making it sound safe, predictable and a little dull.
Mariano plays with passion in some spots, closer to
David Sanborn than to
Charlie Parker, and
Mazur is fine in support. But overall, this is merely a pleasant and often-sleepy affair. ~ Scott Yanow