Clarinet Moods (1997)

"A 33-year-old clarinet player with a goatee, a bowler hat, and a background in Dixieland jazz would hardly seem like a likely candidate for international stardom. But Bernard Stanley Bilk, who used the stage name Acker Bilk, managed just that in 1962 when his song "Stranger On The Shore," a moody but romantic instrumental built around his low-register clarinet work, became a hit in England, Europe, and even the United States. Bilk's days as an American pop star were short-lived, but he enjoyed a long career in the U.K., where his interpretations of jazz standards, pop perennials, and easy listening favorites were regularly heard on TV and radio and in his nightclub engagements." (Allmusic) Deze compilatie opent met het genoemde "Stranger On A Shore" en vervolgt met 14 andere op vergelijkbare wijze gearrangeerde instrumentale versies van evergreens. Denk aan "Body And Soul", "Summertime", "Embraceable You"... Bilks klarinet wordt steevast begeleid door een stemmig spelend orkest.