This recording stands alone in approach and style;[citation needed] Kenton himself only plays on "Django" (no piano called for by Mathieu on all others) and every standard is done at a slow, ballad tempo with very sparse, effusive writing.

[2] In sharp contrast to earlier arrangers for the group such as Bill Holman, Lennie Niehaus, and Gene Roland, Mathieu's music was not of the rhythmic, swinging variety.

"[2] Kenton's intuition as a band leader and artist was spot on and Mathieu was to come up with nine ballads on standards that have become legendary for composers and arrangers to study.

One of the great triumphs of the Standards in Silhouette album is the combination of the room used, the music, a live group with very few overdubs, and the recording being in full stereo fidelity (and later remastered to digital).

[citation needed] Mathieu adds, "Stan and producer Lee Gillette were absolutely right: the band sounds alive and awake (which is not easy when recording many hours of slow-tempo music in a studio), and most importantly, the players could hear themselves well in the live room.

The set of solos by just Charlie Mariano alone are each masterpieces that foreshadow the future soulful playing later on from alto players such as David Sanborn and Dick Oatts.

[3] The comparison fits well but Mathieu's scores do not sound like cheap knock-offs of Evans'; his work on "Standards In Silhouette" is able to stand firmly upright on its own.

Reviews ...Standards in Silhouette is one of Kenton's finest albums of ballads, and is unusual in that it features exclusively the arrangements of the then 22-year-old Bill Mathieu.