Album Review

Danny Gonzalez [allmusic.com]

This is acclaimed flautist Dave Valentin's follow up to his best selling debut album which invokes more a latin setting unlike his ''Legends'' album that was well balanced and fun affair mixing classical, funk and fusion together into a memorable setting. Valentin returns with the same group of players and expands his repetiore setting the tone for this next few albums under the Arista banner before officially moving to GRP in 1982. ''Marcoshino'' is one of the albums few memorable pieces which opens the album and would be come a staple of Valentin's live performances with GRP. ''Windows'' is the albums grand highlight, a lengthy nine minute latin jazz rendition of Chick Corea's wonderful piece is more Afro Cuban in nature than the ones performed previously and soon after. Angela Bofill, who was Valentin's then girlfriend and breakout fellow GRP/Arista artist, features some fun and romantic vocals for the song ''We'll Make Love'' which could easily could've been featured on one of her albums for Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen that they had produced for her during their brief period. It's a pretty good album and Valentin's performance is nearly flawless but it lacks something that his debut had and that is diversity and balance. Despite it's flaws, it's an album that is an important part of his career, but stronger efforts would follow after this in both ''Land of the Third Eye'' and the truly fun, and invigorating, ''Pied Piper''.