Here are a pair of duets for you to compare and contrast
This summit between trumpeter Ian Carey and pianist Ben Stolorow is Exhibit A why I’m a sucker for duet recordings. There’s just nowhere for these two gents to hide, so you either sink or swim, and these guys do it like Mark Spitz on one original and nine wonderful covers. Carey’s got a big, fat and wondrous tone and he fills the room while Stolorow mixes stride chords and bop lines to perfection. Pieces such as “You Took Advantage of Me” and “Two For The Road” mix gentle boogie and stride like you’re at the local hangout, with Carey as expressive as Pagliacci, while a take of Monk’s “Four In One” and Gigi Gryce’s “Social Call” have a cozy and cute bop feel. Most impressive of all is how they take “Cherokee” and “All The Things You Are” and merely hint at the melody, handling the themes and improvising off of the melody as if they were stretching it like an Abba Zabba. The definition of jazz on these ten tunes!
Subtitled “For Living Lovers” the duets by Brandon Ross, who plays acoustic/soprano guitar and banjo, and bassist Stomu Takeishi, is a collection of intimate pieces that is so delicate that it rarely raises above a whisper. “Chant” and the two part “Danses de Travers” have wonderful communication between the two, with space being as important an actor as the actual sounds. The almost subliminal communication is so subtle that it’s easy to lose concentration. Don’t fall victim to the temptation; there are interesting messages here.
Kabocha Records
Sunnyside Records