It’s impossible for Callier to cut a duff record, such is his luxuriant ooze of a voice. And, though this follow-up to 2002’s Speak Your Peace is the first self-produced album of his 40-year career, the stylings and subtle nuances remain the same, blowing effortless smoke rings of late-night soul-jazz. And there lies the rub. Beautiful as it is?including a wonderfully free interpretation of The Beatles’ “And I Love Her”? you crave for him to strip back the cocktail piano, stretch out, isolate himself in more naked settings. There’s a masterpiece waiting to be hard-won.
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