Walkin' On the Moon

The ideal of the Renaissance man, a person at home in the arts, sciences, and stylish salons, is actually more alive now than it was in the days of the Medicis. A case in point is Philippe Kahn, who has founded several successful technology companies, raced sailboats at the highest competitive levels, and also recorded this jazz album featuring his original compositions and flute playing. Though he is probably a better software developer than he is at his other endeavors, this album is no mere vanity project. Kahn is a good if not brilliant player, with fine tone and some excellent ideas about combining South American and chamber jazz. For Walkin' on the Moon, he assembled a formidable cast of sidemen, including Charlie Haden, Don Cherry, John Abercrombie, and Peter Erskine. All of them sound committed to the music, which is presented as a series of medium-length works broken up by brief flute-led interludes. The vocal pieces are least successful, thanks mainly to syncopated arrangements that don't fit in with the beautiful but somewhat mannered singing style of Patti Cathcart. The instrumentals are far better, with "Ralph's Piano Waltz" standing out among several good tracks. Cynics might point to the stellar jazz talent involved in this project and claim that Kahn bought himself a great band, but even a cursory listen shows that he is not out of place in this company. If the computer business ever turns sour, he'll find a job as a jazz sideman any day. [Note: Probably due to a slightly confusing label design, some reviews list the album title as "Pacific High." This is the name of the record label and possibly of Kahn's backing band, but the original release title is Walkin' on the Moon.]