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Gabin

(ENLARGE)
Gabin: 'Mr. Freedom'
Nicolas Sautiez (ENLARGE)
Jazz vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater and her daughter China Moses add to the mellow mood on Gabin's 'Mr. Freedom.'
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"Mr. Freedom." Astralwerks. 10 tracks.

Grade: B

Setting a mood requires more than the right meal and lighting. There's also the matter of the right sound. And if martinis, dancing and romance are on the menu, Italian duo Gabin's latest CD will elevate every course.

Filippo Clary and Max Bottini's "Mr. Freedom" starts off swinging in mod fashion, with jazz vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater coolly insisting someone dive "Into My Soul." Next up are the rampant Adam Ant drums pounding through "Bang Bang to the Rock 'n' Roll." Good, energizing, cooking music.

Then Gabin takes it down a notch to make room for xylophones and trumpets on "Midnight Caffé," and for the gravelly, confident vocals of Edwyn Collins (formerly of Scottish pop band Orange Juice) on the title track. Good conversation music.

Finally Bridgewater's daughter China Moses takes the microphone on the slow, acoustic-guitar centered "? And She's Still Watching Me" and the especially slinky "The Thousand and One Nights." Good ? well, good luck with those two.

—Sonia Murray