After being out of practice for a while and not exercising my listening chops, I was lucky enough to wake up this morning to find Branford and Calderazzo's "Top 5 Jazz Duos"on NPR. Since Marsalis and Calderazzo were discussing their top duos, I figured that means they must have recently recorded a duo album themselves and sure enough they did. The idea for their new album Songs of Mirth and Melancholy, which was recently released, was inspired after a duo performance at the 2009 Newport Jazz Festival. While I have not yet listened to their top tier duo list, which includes Don Byas and Slam Stewart, Bill Evans and Tony Bennett, Monk and Coltrane, Sinatra and Basie, and Ellington and Ray Brown, I did begin my morning listen by throwing on their small stage duo performance from the inspirational 2009 Newport Jazz Festival. This is a perfect way to both wake up and get back into the spirit of listening on a regular basis. The hour long recording begins with a bump in the road in which there is a minor sound issue, but the audience's anxiety is short lived and the fears of the eager listeners are quickly quelled when Marsalis and Calderazzo resume their performance without missing a beat (sorry for the pun, it was unintentional). The duo performed four songs ("Just You, Just Me", "Hope", "Cheek to Cheek", and "Eternal") over the duration of their set.
The interplay and connection that Marsalis and Calderazzo exhibit, which is nothing new since they have been performing together for years and live in close proximity of each other in North Carolina, provide a clinic to pianists and saxophonists alike. Especially for those pianist, like myself, who would like stop overplaying when duetting with other instrumentalists. Well, this is my humble beginning to hopefully a litany of posts about music that I enjoy. Only time will tell. Now time to listen to Marsalis and Calderazzo's "Top 5 Jazz Duo Albums".
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