Jazz for Those Peaceful Moments

There's nothing on this all-ballad compilation to disrupt a peaceful mood, and several tunes that are performed with sufficient grace to enhance it. The great saxophonist Sonny Stitt, a master of the serene, sounds equally good on tenor and alto, while there's a sequence of three generations of fine jazz pianists: Red Garland, Donald Brown, and Darrell Grant. The centerpieces of the CD are also the highlights, with tenor saxophonist Ricky Ford offering a perfectly Ducal rendering of Ellington's "I've Got It Bad" and trumpeter Woody Shaw demonstrating a rare talent for extended lyricism on "It Might as Well Be Spring." The CD is a commendable complement to a reflective frame of mind. --Adam Rains