I purchased Hymns in the Garden by Kirk Whalum years ago when it first came out. I listened to it then but, for some reason, didn't seem to like it that much. Two weeks ago, I took the CD back out to listen to as I was driving on a road trip to Houston. I was amazed at how good the CD is. A lot of soulful playing by Kirk. In addition, I like the different styles on all of the tracks. There are a couple of tracks that sound modal in tonality. The harmonies are more in line with true jazz instead of the "smooth jazz" grooves that you would normally hear. It's a great CD to listen to in order to get some ideas and licks.
