A wonderful surprise
Dennis M. Clark | San Francisco, CA USA | 09/09/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you mainly associate Kenny Wheeler with quiet, reflective chamber jazz (such as his wonderful Angel Song album on ECM), you're in for a big surprise with this album. Kenny and frequent collaborators Norma Winstone and John Taylor produce some wild'n'crazy music with a superb university band that swings really, really hard (and plays in tune for good measure). The "Siren" bit appears to be a reference to the way he uses wordless (mostly) female vocals as additional instruments in the band, frequently with breath-taking effect. You might even be reminded of Claude Debussy's use of female voices in his third nocturne for orchestra, subtitled something like "Sirenes". This is a recording I think will remain one of my favorites for a long time, possibly even a candidate for a desert island list."