NEW RELEASES : In Brief

* * * * Flip Philips With Strings, “Try a Little Tenderness,” Chiaroscuro. This is a triumph for all concerned. The art of enveloping a jazz soloist in a string setting has rarely been exploited with total success, but here, pianist Dick Hyman, writing for 14 strings, provides a magnificent cushion for Phillips’ tenor sax (also bass clarinet). The songs are top-of-the-crop ballads: “All the Way,” “Dream,” “Goodbye.” The only non-ballad is the final cut, Phillips’ own “If I Had a Penny,” on which he sings amusingly. Credit producer Hank O’Neal with gambling wisely on a project of consummate beauty.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).