Maybe it’s because I got into jazz listening to Eddie Lang duets, but I’m just a sucker for when two artists get together and converse together with their instruments. Here, you’ve got Dan Block on saxes and clarinets, and he teams up with just about every type of instrument as a partner that you can imagine. It works amazingly well of music ranging from Tin Pan Alley to Shostakovich.
The moods stay congenial throughout, with nary a cacophonous spark. Block’s tone on all woodwinds is exemplary, and he makes the co-minglings sound logical and yet surprising. His tenor with bassist Lee Hudson on “I’m Bringing a Red Red Rose” is warm and earthy, while he caresses the reed as he accompanies vocalist Catherine Russell on a sepia toned “If You Could See Me Now.” His clarinet with equally tasty Paul Meyers on guitar produces a dreamy “Chorino for Dennis, but the ringer of the set has to be the take of Ellington’s famous duet with Jimmy Blanton “Pitter Panther Patter” which has him go toe to toe with saxist Scott Robinson for an exciting round of middleweight mayhem. Not a second that isn’t thoroughly enjoyable here.
Miles High Records