First, a disclaimer: I’m a sucker for a breathy tenor sax, so I’m a devotee of Ben Webster-inspired Houston Person. There’s also a soft spot for duets, as this format can be the most intimate and expressive form of jazz. Third, keeping an album in one mood makes it easy to play it over and over when you feel a certain way. With this reunion between Person and bassist Ron Carter, you have an hour’s worth of material for sittin’ and a rockin’.
Person sounds like a London fog in human form as he introduces pieces like “Fools Rush In,” “Blame It On My Youth” and “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” as solo pieces. The tenor sax’s candle flickers alone for quite some time before Carter subtly enters to start the relaxed pace. The team also gets playful, as “Blue Monk” is a bouncy delight and “Bye Bye Blackbird” is meticulously melodic. The album is engineered by the master Rudy Van Gelder, so you feel like you’re the screw on the Otto Link mouthpiece during the rich “But Beautiful.” This is music for the mood to be wooed.
High Note Records