Fingerprints
Everyone is grateful to have Larry Carlton among us, a gifted and imaginative guitarist who survived a gunman's bullet in 1988. Sometimes, though, we wish the old Larry Carlton were still with us, the spark-spraying fusionist whose nimble flights of fancy electrified recordings by theCrusadersandSteely Dan("Kid Charlemagne" fromRoyal Scam) as well his own solo works throughout the 1970s and into the mid-1980s. The appeal of the smooth-jazz gravy train has defused much of Carlton's incendiary inventiveness, a conviction reinforced by the unruffled textures etched intoFingerprints, Carlton's 20th career recording. Those textures, though, are faithful to the album's apparent intent--to create a velvety-smooth soundtrack for late-night romance. No jarring oddities here, just sweetness and seduction throughout. Guests include smooth-jazz vets Abraham Laboriel,Kirk Whalumon sax, Jerry Hay on horns,Michael McDonaldfor a lone vocal track ("'Til I Hurt You"), andVince Gill, who duets transparently on "Gracias." The pick of the litter: the closing track, "Crying Hands," an expressive bit of slow-dance finesse that merits repeated listenings.--Terry Wood