Come Fly with Me [LP]

Since his 2009 return to regular recording after a ten-year hiatus, trumpeter has stayed busy releasing albums, some with his wife, vocalist , and others, like 2015's , on his own. 80 years old at the time of this release, has gone from instrumental pop icon of the '60s and '70s to journeyman performer with decades of experience to draw from. Working with a bevy of longtime collaborators including his nephew, programmer , bassist/guitarist/producer , keyboardist/producer , keyboardist/guitarist , has crafted a breezy, low-key collection of originals and cover tunes, that nonetheless retains all of the melodic, jazz-inflected style of his classic recordings. Although takes on a handful of standards here, he approaches them with a creative sense of fun. To these ends, he reworks the classic and title track into a Day-Glo, Brazilian bossa nova production. Similarly, on 's "Blue Skies," 's supple trumpet is framed by lush orchestral strings that give way to a laid-back reggae groove accented by vibrato-soaked, -esque guitar hits. And it's not just Broadway standards that benefit from the Alpertization process -- influence pops up again, this time with his stripped-down, ethereal take on the band's 1969 classic "Something." One of the most interesting and effective transformations here is 's R&B style overhaul of "I've Got a Lot of Livin' to Do," from the musical Bye Bye Birdie. Kicking off with an introspective keyboard figure, the song sounds like something along the lines of covering a yearning '90s soul ballad. As with most all of 's post-2009 material, is a much more low-key and intimate recording than the productions that marked the best of his '60s period. That said, by keeping things simple, and his collaborators illuminate all of the tenderness and direct lyricism of his horn playing. ~ Matt Collar