I'm in the Mood For Love...The Most Romantic Melodies of All Time

For more than 20 years, Kenny G has delighted fans around the globe with his unmistakable brand of instrumental music. To say that Kenny G is an international superstar is an understatement. With over 75 million albums sold worldwide and 45 million in the US alone including eight #1 albums, Kenny G is by far the best- selling instrumentalist of all time. Kenny G lends his signature style to the Most Romantic Melodies of All-Time. Sure to follow in the footsteps of his genre-busting predecessors, his new album includes Kenny's unique take on romantic contemporary classics. He has again teamed up with longtime collaborator Walter Afanasieff (Mariah Carey, Luther Vandross, Barbara Streisand) for the most romantic melodies of all time, marking Kenny's return to an all instrumental format (non-holiday) after his successful ''duets'' vocal album.

I'm in the Mood for Love...The Most Romantic Melodies of All Time is Kenny G's twist on the trend that's found artists, from Rod Stewart to Gladys Knight to Barry Manilow, repurposing classics for modern consumption. Or is it? A scan of the track selection is as likely to get listeners wondering whether he's covered these songs before as it is to drum up curiosity about how they'll sound spiraling out of his signature sax. For instance: silky as "The Way We Were," the Barbra Streisand chestnut, comes across, it stirs a sense of déjà vu as much as wonderment; as does the Sinatra medley "Fly Me to the Moon/You Make Me Feel So Young." Such familiarity is without doubt the product of impeccable taste and a seasoned ear--somebody, whether it's Kenny G or a behind-the-scenes studio type, knows what works for the curly-topped jazzman and what's better left un-saxed. Still, such scrutiny can make for a disc that's aurally matchy-match; a stab at an out-there number--Etta James' "At Last" or U2's "With or Without You"--might have worked, too. That said, hats off to the G-man for pronouncing a couple of recent hits among the most romantic of all time: Alicia Keys "If I Ain't Got You" deserves it especially, and is mesmerizing here. --Tammy La Gorce