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Review by Jonathan Widran

The adage about judging books by their covers translates to CDs and their jackets as well. The tough leaning, leather jacketed photo of Phillip Bent on his only GRP recording belies the flutist's basic sweetness as a player and composer. The London born artists, whose jazz sensibilities evolved as a member of the Jazz Warriors along with Courtney Pine and Julian Joseph, won' t make you forget his hero Hubert Laws or even the sly dynamics of his then labelmate Nelson Rangell, but Bent's classical training shines through on occasion with some bright and wistful tones throughout. Aside from Bent's well placed licks, the most intriguing aspect of this disc is its stylistic diversity. His covers of "The World is a Ghetto" and "In a Sentimental Mood" show completely different mindsets and attitudes, but Bent is capable of the required amounts of fire, improvisation, and subtlety to somehow make the disparity in choice seem logical. His own compostions are fairly memorable, although he shines brighter on a tradition steeped number like "Phillip's Blues" (with Pine on sax) than on pseudo funk pieces like the title cut. He hits a few very low spots when he relies way too much on cheesy machine generated sounds, but there's promise to burn here. Obviously, the masses didnt agree and Bent was dropped from the label before a second album could be recorded.


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