Flutist and indie label head Sherry Winston does not compromise. The former record promoter has been on the corporate scene, and as a self-managed artist knows exactly the sound she wants. On Life Is Love and Love Is You (Flying Flute/Orpheus Music 757 66 70476; 64:02) Winston shares her personal inspiration, playing a graceful, high-toned electric flute that floats and dives like an otherworldly and earthier acoustic instrument, which brings out emotional tones. Her inspiration is shared by a number of high-profile collaborators, most notably the late Grover Washington Jr., whose saxophone converses with Winston’s floating lines on the stretching, improvisational original “Love & Marriage,” and Jon Lucien, whose rich tenor vocal embraces Winston’s romantic poetry on the album’s title track. Winston’s covers are also inspired choices, from Stevie Wonder (tropic-toned “Pastime Paradise” and a trilling, swooping “Another Star”) to Hubert Laws (“Guatemala Connection,” with Winston’s long, wistful blue lines a counterpoint to Najee’s swift piping), providing another insight into this one-of-a-kind artist/entrepreneur’s musical soul.
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