Nostalgia, if overused, can be a dangerous drug but, when the dosage is just right, it can serve as a wonderful gateway into an artist's personalized realm. Such is the case with pianist Bill Carrothers' Family Life. Carrothers broke his trio recording habit, which is well-documented on his prior Pirouet releases, and sat down all by his lonesome to produce this pianistic trip down memory lane.

While no single mood or ideal defines this work, Carrothers often conjures a bucolic and peaceable beauty that can be viewed as a musical representation of his family's rural existence in a sparsely populated section of Michigan. The album-opening "Our House," "Bud And Bunny" (borrowing his children's nicknames for a title) and "Good Dog" all wear this quality well. Other numbers ("For Better And For Worse") hint at this ideal, but in a more reflective and less obvious manner.

Carrothers' carefree delivery on some of this material is essential to its character, but it doesn't define his character. When he digs deeper and goes beneath the surface, he provides a more well-rounded view of himself and he comes up with some music that goes a step---or a mile---beyond the beauteous and subdued. His bluesy and free-spirited side comes through during "A Night Out," he taps into his inner-