The Last Dance of Mr. X (1997), by Andy Summers

After a scorching remake of the Charming Snakes track "Big Thing" (with Jerry Watts on bass and Bernie Dresel on drums), Summers' guitar leads Tony Levin's bass and Gregg Bissonette's drums through a delectable mix of jazz originals and standards.

Since this is a jazz guitar trio record, there are little or no overdubs, leaving Summers to rely more on atmosphere and texture and draw extensively from his classical training. Of course, Summers also manages to come up with some interesting and unique lead guitar lines in this format. It's also a marvel to hear how much Summers, Levin, and Bissonette can achieve sonically.

In terms of the songs themselves, Summers' compositions blend seamlessly with those of jazz greats such as Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Wayne Shorter, Horace Silver, and Mongo Santamaria.

This is a pleasant, laid-back, and mellow detour from Summers' usual dark edginess and is similar in tone to his 1991 release World Gone Strange.

--Raj Manoharan