Blue Eyes

by Scott YanowThroughout his career, Bireli Lagrene has often confounded expectations. He started out as a brilliant young Django Reinhardt impressionist; a few years later, he switched to rock-oriented fusion, and then returned to straight-ahead jazz with a more original (if blander) voice than he had displayed in his Django days. On this 1997 set Blue Eyes, a tribute to Frank Sinatra, Lagrene not only plays with swing and subtlety in a conventional quartet (with pianist Maurice Vander, bassist Chris Minh Doky, and drummer André Ceccarelli), but sings a few numbers quite effectively. The 13 selections include such standards as "The Lady Is a Tramp," "My Kind of Town," "Come Fly with Me" and "Luck Be a Lady" and are all associated with Sinatra; the treatments given by Lagrene and his quartet are melodic, tasteful and full of cheer.