I’ve always been a sucker for jazz duets. Lonnie Johnson and Eddie Lang, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, Jim Hall & Pat Metheny…the list could go on forever. There’s nowhere to hide, and if you’re posing, it’s going to come out. This disc with pianist Randy Klein has him in duo setting with either guitarist Alex Skolnick or bassist Boris Kozlov, and the result is one of the most lyrical, melodic yet incisively swinging releases to come out in many moons. Klein’s got a flowing touch with an inherent sense of pulse, flow and timing, making these tunes come off like intriguing conversations between longtime friends. Skolnick’s warm guitar embraces sonatas like “Exalted Kingdom” and the luxurious “In The Twilight Hours” with delicacy while he can also give it all he’s got, yet without shouting, on the fun loving ”No.” Kozlov’s elastic and electric 6 string bass dances around “Dear Charles Mingus” with exciting fingerwork while his sensitivity is spotlighted on the lilting “Inner Voice.” All throughout, Klein keeps the mood serene yet without somnambulism. Gently gliding like a spring brook, this music is refreshing to the soul.
Jazzheads Records