had never really embraced his inner jazzman over the course of an entire album before; the closest he came was 1992's , ultimately a highly controlled cocoon of a recording. But this, at long last, is it, and it represents a string of firsts for the protean trumpeter -- his first truly straight-ahead jazz project, his first all-new album of any kind in ten years, his first complete album with his wife, singer (who gets co-billing), and his first released by a label which he did not co-own. The concept grew out of a series of live dates that he and played in various cities, from which these tracks were assembled. Despite some apparent lightly applied overdubs, it remains an intimate small group album of mostly standards, the kind of thing one might run across at -- 's jazz club in the hills above Los Angeles. appears in tandem with on nine of the 14 tracks -- with taking five for himself -- which guarantees an additional unique layer of intimacy as wraps his pithy horn lovingly around 's voice. has kept her Portuguese in gear, doing well by ' and the rapid-fire syllables of She adopts a dark, dusky tone on and for she takes on an air of desperation, focusing on the words, "there may be trouble ahead." Still in good shape in his seventies, retains the marcato bravado of the days and the more recent, terse, moody, muted tones of a acolyte; in these two personas go mano a mano rather humorously. done at an unusually lazy, loping pace by the more than four decades before, is taken at a more traditionally quick, Latin-accented tempo here, and this is the third time around for -- now a casual vocal showcase for with a witty coda that sneaks in a horn lick from The adept backup trio of on keyboards -- who comes up with a few nifty quotes himself -- on electric bass, and on drums and Latin percussion goes down agreeably. This is a classy, welcome return to album-making for , and a good fit for 's adult-oriented roster. ~ Richard S. Ginell