Canyon Lullaby

Much is made in the liner notes of this recording about the lengths Paul Winter and his compatriots went to find just the perfect place in the Grand Canyon to record. For once, all the hyperbole is justified. The sound here is nothing short of breathtaking. Winter’s saxophone reverberates off the canyon walls and has a truly transcendent sound and feeling. That said, the compositions — 21 of them, lasting over an hour in total time — are as evanescent as the sound of Winter’s saxophone fading into the rocks, and there’s only so much solo saxophone one can take (Winter’s bandmate Paul Halley adds organ on two cuts). Interesting and exhilarating in small doses, Canyon Lullaby can go beyond soothing to soporific if listened to in one sitting. – Ross Boissoneau