MAINSTREAM JAZZ. Elegant, stylish jazz by veterans Eliane Elias on acoustic grand piano, Marc Johnson on upright bass, and Joe Lovano on tenor sax (on most tracks). Drummer Joey Baron completes the ensemble, keeps it low-key. Compositions are by Elias, Johnson, or both, except track 11. Very classy and well produced, as you’d expect on ECM.

All instrumental. No FCC issues.

1 * Slow. Has the sound and feel of an old standard with a lyric and lovely melody. Nice bass solo in middle. The subtlest hint of drumming with brushes. No sax. (6:19)
2 * Slow. Wonderful ballad led by Lovano’s smoky, sultry, legato tenor sax. Piano accompaniment is jazzy and fun. (5:51)
3 ** Fast. Very energetic, rhythmic. A tour de force on the piano. Some modality slightly suggestive of the Middle East (as is the title). No sax. A terrific performance. (8:16)
4 Slow but sax has fast bebop-ish runs. Theme is broken up, scattered about. (6:36)
5 ** Mid-fast. Joyous & uplifting. The bass is featured with an extended solo. No sax; others play superbly. More drumming here (on more of the kit) than on other tracks. (8:06)
6 Slow. A late-night bluesy crawl through a smoky bar, led mainly by the sax. (6:01)
7 * Very slow. A romantic ballad led by the sax. Very mellow. Very classy. (5:49)
8 * Fast. Thrilling, high-energy dialog between sax & piano, driven by solid bass & drums. If this had been on electric piano, I could imagine it was Shorter & Zawinul. (5:53)
9 Mid-slow. Soft, sleepy, improvisational feel on piano. Minimal bass & drums. (5:36)
10 ** Slow. Start w impressions from inside a music box: we hear springs tightly wound, metal chimes plucked, unidentifiable mechanical clicks & clanks. After ~2min, a lyrical theme appears on bowed bass. A striking, beautiful piece. A bit avant-garde. (5:29)
11 Slow, very quiet. Unaccompanied pizzicato bass doing classic Amer. folk song. (4:35)