No I don't write all my posts on the day they're posted.

Merry Christmas. It's time for a CD review! I picked up this disk, which is titled Illuminations and features the trombone soloist, Joseph Alessi, simply because I'm always looking for more recorded trombone works. I file this as T-bone Concerto by Johan de Meij according to my own idiosyncratic way of organizing my classical music.

Mr. Alessi is the principal trombonist for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and a regular on the trombone soloist circuit (hey, that's not such a lucrative gig that a fellow can give up the day job in New York). He's a superb musician with an unerring feel for phrasing and great technique on one of the most difficult instruments in the orchestra and he's working here with the New Mexico Wind Symphony, a pretty good group for accompaniment, even if their sound isn't perfectly polished. As I write this, I realize that there was a time when classical recording reviews used to always mention the recording quality. You know, I really almost never hear recordings that aren't at least "pretty good" in terms of sound quality. This disk is certainly in that category and I'll probably never mention the topic again.

The disk is organized very much like a recital for Mr. Alessi, featuring the kinds of straightforward, tuneful works in which he typically shines. Three of the works are by the famed trombonist of the Sousa era, Arthur Pryor. Pryor's tunes always make me think of the municipal band shell you find in Midwestern parks, where you might have once heard works like these four-square tunes. A couple of the other works are in this same vein, with two more serious works rounding out the disk: the de Meij and Joseph Turrin's Illuminations. I found the Turrin work especially fine, with a lovely structure and nice melodies. Still, the overall feel of the disk is a bit lightweight, with the possible exception of the de Meij. After listening through, you may feel a little like you still haven't heard something substantial (hey, this could just be my taste for atonal music surfacing with such a tonal disk).

7 out of 10

CDs listened to today:

• Frank Sinatra: The Best Of the Columbia Years, 1943-1952, disk 3