Black Diamond

According to the liner notes, Freeman's nine new tunes and one new song were inspired by his experiences skiing in Colorado. It's easy, in fact, to imagine this music as a soundtrack for those montages the networks like to put together during the Winter Olympics. How much you will enjoy this album will largely depend on how often you like to sit around and listen to TV background music. Mark Williamson, recently signed to Freeman's new label, Peak, sings lead on the sentimental ballad, "If I Owned the World," and lends wordless background vocals to six other tracks. Percussionist Steve Reid, the only member to stick with Freeman since 1987, is present on only two tracks. The closest the album gets to real jazz comes on "Angelfire" when Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and Mexican-American percussionist Pete Escovedo add embellishments to Freeman's easy-going Latin theme. --Geoffrey Himes