Dave Grusin's tribute to
Henry Mancini starts out quite strong, with a few fine examples of
Grusin's piano playing (particularly "Peter Gunn" and "Mr. Lucky"). Unfortunately, as the set progresses, the music gets more and more routine and closer to easy listening.
Grusin is joined by bassist
John Patitucci and drummer
Harvey Mason, singer
Diana Krall does fine on two lazy ballads, a horn section (including trombonist
Andy Martin) is heard on two songs, and the obscure harmonica player
Tollak Ollestad (sounding like
Toots Thielemans) has a pair of appearances. The use of overdubbed strings on some numbers weighs down the set, and what could have been something special ends up being pleasing but predictable. ~ Scott Yanow