I was getting coffee the other evening and was whistling a little ditty. After questioning myself what it was, I realized it was CM’s “Solar Mystique”. I knew the actual track name of this instrumental tune and had it in my head. I find that to be a rather rare occurrence for an independent, mostly instrumental jazz disc. I’ve been following CM’s work since his Bridges in the Sky debut and with each release, his records continue to improve on both song quality and recording. I’m happy to see that he’s moved further away from the drum machine approach and now has rhythm duties handled by an actual percussionist or high quality loops. The compositions are really conveyed nicely this time around. He’s involved himself with a number of different musicians (and composers) for this record and the chemistry is clearly audible. The Jazz-grounded album glides through New Age, Smooth Jazz, Big Band, Experimental and even spoken word styles. From “Heart of the Matter”, a charming, free spirited piece almost reminiscent of Mars Lasar’s works with an unforgettable hook line, to the aforementioned "Solar Mystique" where we are treated to CM’s beautiful serene horn layers flowing along with a piano arrangement that any David Foster fan would be delighted to experience. The album as a whole does seem to loose a bit of its established charm in the very late stages, with some of the latter bits perhaps better suited for enjoyment on their own and not within the context of the record. Great performances here. Bass duties are solid. The percussion by Filippo is also very tight, yet very flowing and imaginative... an effort that should make any independent musician using a drum machine want to discontinue usage of said device immediately. We also find Carl Eichman (who also penned a couple of the album’s jewels) playing both some nice smooth jazz guitar and also some very nice, unobtrusive rock-style solos. But make no mistake, this is a CM record and therefore most certainly a horn album. The trumpet and flugelhorn playing are exceptionally written, performed and mixed. The beautiful horn playing supports the songs and does not exploit the instrument like a virtuoso style recording might do. Thumbs up for that! A glowing 4/5 stars. This album has spirit! -Alex Mindside, Xensori Recordings