Slow Motion

Toots Thielemans

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Slow Motion Review

by Ken Dryden

Toots Thielemans is accompanied by an orchestra, along with bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, drummer Alex Riel, and keyboardist Rob Franken in this studio album from 1978. The emphasis is heavily on ballads, with the focus primarily on the leader, in conductor Rogier VanOtterloo's arrangements. This low-key session hardly ranks as one of Thielemans' more memorable dates as a leader. Renditions of Thielemans' best-known composition, "Bluesette," Benny Golson's "Killer Joe," and standards like "My Ship" and "Here's That Rainy Day" make up for the presence of the lousy pop tunes of the day, including the forgettable "I Won't Last a Day Without You," and the absolutely inane "Nobody Does It Better." Only briefly available outside Europe on the Jazz Man label in the early '80s, this session was reissued on CD in Europe by CBS with two additional tracks.

Track Listing

	Title/Composer	Performer	Time	Stream
1	The Shadow of Your Smile Johnny Mandel / Paul Francis Webster	Toots Thielemans	03:37	Amazon
2	I Won't Last a Day Without You Roger Nichols / Paul Williams	Toots Thielemans	04:30	Amazon
3	Bluesette Norman Gimbel / Toots Thielemans	Toots Thielemans	04:25	Amazon
4	Killer Joe Benny Golson	Toots Thielemans	05:44	Amazon
5	Maybe September Ray Evans / Percy Faith / Jay Livingston	Toots Thielemans	04:36	Amazon
6	Jane's Theme Herbie Hancock	Toots Thielemans	04:52	Amazon
7	My Ship Ira Gershwin / Kurt Weill	Toots Thielemans	03:58	Amazon
8	Nobody Does It Better Marvin Hamlisch / Carole Bayer Sager	Toots Thielemans	03:55	Amazon
9	Here's That Rainy Day Johnny Burke / James Van Heusen	Toots Thielemans	03:41	Amazon
10	Quiet Evenings Dave Grusin	Toots Thielemans	03:41	Amazon
11	Days of Wine and Roses Henry Mancini / Johnny Mercer	Toots Thielemans	03:34	Amazon