Only Time Will Tell

Valarie King has a pretty sound on flute and she is a soothing singer. Throughout Only Time Will Tell, she mostly features herself on lightly grooving pieces, sticking near the melody much of the time on flute and occasionally singing light funky singalong melodies. Sometimes the arrangements, particularly on the selections that utilize Mark Cargill's Tri-Ambient Orchestra (which is mostly comprised of strings), are reminiscent of a Hubert Laws recording from his CTI days in the early '70s and, in fact, Laws guests on "La Costa." There are spots (such as on "Long Shadows on the Afternoon") where King hints that she is capable of stretching out and improvising more creatively, but most of Only Time Will Tell features her playing it safe while displaying an impressive classical technique. Guest altoist Jeff Clayton and trumpeter Nolan Shaheed get a good solo apiece along the way, and the diversity of moods and the constantly changing instrumentation make this a stronger than usual crossover set. However, the emphasis is mostly on the danceable grooves and those catchy melodies so, even with the occasional contrasts, few real surprises occur.