Richard Galliano Sentimentale Resonance Records ***
Not a quick fix of a record Sentimentale is one to take your time over. Beginning with Chick Corea’s ‘Armando’s Rumba’ the great French accordionist layers emotion on top of emotion on ‘Canto Invierno’ the next track, one of the big tunes, on an album recorded in April 2013 that never overstays its welcome.
Here with pianist Tamir Hendelman who has arranged most of the 12 selections, Anthony Wilson the guitarist (known for his work with Diana Krall) who swings Francis Lai's ‘Plus Fort Que Nous’, the theme from Claude Lelouch’s 1966 film A Man and a Woman, very effectively, plus the bassist Carlitos Del Puerto and drummer Mauricio Zottarelli, Galliano manages to provide fresh insights impossible though that might seem on such familiar material as ‘In a Sentimental Mood’, ‘Naima’, and the like, his ingenious rhythmic liberty-taking with ‘The Jody Grind’ indicating just one of the ways he finds to never be accused of going through the motions. But pack your bags for a trip down memory lane. You might need a few tissues for this weepy. SG
Out now