Toots Thielemans & Kenny Werner

(Verve 440 014 722-2)

Here's a real bona fide dinner jazz selection. Toots Thielemans has recorded an ornate duo project with his quartet pianist, Kenny Werner. Werner is a fantastic musician, one who clearly fits into that confounded and pesky category, "talent deserving of wider recognition." During the late nineties, while Toots toiled on the now defunct Private Music label, Werner recorded a couple of quality jazz sides on RCA Victor.

The main thrust of this current collaborative release is the presence of four medleys honoring Frank Sinatra, Bill Evans, Walt Disney film themes and Michel LeGrand. Note for note, Werner is especially majestic and nearly steals the show. And what can you say about Toots, one of the most famous chromatic harmonica players of all time?

Anybody who has ever spoken with Toots can attest that the man is a genuine character, full of laughter and brilliant memories. At age eighty he's enjoyed an amazing jazz tenure, from his early Parisian stint as a guitarist with Edith Piaf to an extraordinary harmonica soloist in many top motion picture film soundtracks.

We'll never forget the funny tale he told us about the time he and his wife first arrived in New York City with only a few dollars between them. Fresh off the boat, Toots showed up for a television commercial session and ended up being the whistler on the famous Old Spice cologne commercials. When Toots told the contractor he was busted, the guy reminded him that every time the commercial was aired on TV, Toots would earn a few dollars. Thielemans recalled seeing the Old Spice ad on the television several times over the weekend, and by his count, he had accumulated more than enough money to pay the next month's rent. From then on it was smooth sailing, and Toots has never looked back.

And, oh yes, more about the record: It seems like we're pushovers for any sentimental version of Charlie Chaplin's "Smile." Plus Toots' rendering of LeGrand's "Windmills of Your Mind" is as breathtaking as the symphony arrangements that breeze throughout the entire CD.