Washington Post Review
Monday, July 28, 2003; Page D12

Bernie Williams may have been absent from this season's Midsummer Classic but the New York Yankees center fielder was busy with an all-star team of his own.

Among those joining Williams on his debut album "The Journey Within" are Bela Fleck (banjo), David Benoit (keyboards), brother Hiram Williams (cello) and salsa legends Ruben Blades and Gilberto Santa Rosa (but not fellow jock musicos Jack McDowell, Wayman Tisdale or the '85 Bears). His esteemed company notwithstanding, Bernie Williams is clearly batting cleanup here: A talented guitarist, he composed seven of the album's 11 tracks -- effortlessly blending salsa, jazz, blues, rock and classical with a splash of techno for good measure.

From the evocative ode "Para Don Berna" -- a song written for his late father -- to the fusion riff "Stranded on the Bridge," which is reminiscent of a Weather Report jam session, Williams's debut album is surprisingly sophisticated and a whole lot of fun.

The only error that can be charged to Williams is his inexplicable decision to cover Kansas's "Dust in the Wind," which came out sounding like something one would hear in the frozen-foods aisle at Giant.

That misjudgment aside, it's no wonder that Paul McCartney has signed Williams for future projects; Williams, under the aegis of McCartney, might one day blossom into a first-ballot Hall of Famer -- if not in baseball, at least among the ranks of musical jocks.

- Courtney A. Crowley