David Murray is the archetypal powerhouse saxophonist, the exponent of fire music. This is not the whole truth though. He can also leadeth a listener to calm waters and his discography proves his awareness of the importance of ballad playing for any horn man who claims to be a complete player. To date Murray the romantic excelled on Como Un Beso Que Nunca Se Acaba and this latest set loosely picks up where that Cuban themed one left off. Taking Nat King Cole's two classic Latin albums, 1958's Cole En Espanol and 1962's More Cole En Espanol, as templates, Murray investigates timeless material by Cuban, Puerto Rican and Argentinian songwriters Osvaldo Farres, Bobby Capo and Edgardo Donato, and invests them with the kind of leisurely, sauntering phrasing that is both hugely seductive and stately. He still pushes in his characteristic piping high notes but they simmer more than boil over while his tone, especially on the very relaxed tempos, acquires a creaminess that flows beautifully into string orchestrations that are wistful rather than lachrymose. Having said that, the arrangements for the five piece horn section are anything but facile and the rapidly executed, almost bop-like punch of the brass and reed countermelodies adds a passing urgency to the skipping cha cha cha, son or Tango rhythms. Daniel Melingo's laconic, lived-in vocal is effective on several tracks but it is both the poise and grandeur of Murray and the orchestrations that make this work a thing of sunny, graceful charm.