The venerable Danish label Storyville goes back in the vaults as well as delivering fresh out of the oven piano works in duo and trio formats. No matter the year of recording, the sounds are timeless.
Bassist Thomas Fonnesbaek joins in the Swedish studio with pianist Justin Kauflin for nine lovely and lyrical duets of jazz standards. Fonnesbaek’s bass is warm and melodic as it states the theme and is out front on a rich “In A Sentimental Mood”, sprints out an intro to a spry on a chugging “Take The ‘A’ Train” and gets deep on the lead in to a dramatic “It’s All Right With Me”. Kauflin’s left hand is playful on the bopping “Bouncing With Bud”, luscious on Oscar Peterson’s “Nigerian Marketplace” and the two ricochet with aplomb on McCoy Tyner’s “Inception”. Dancing in the dark.
Bill Evans-inspired pianist Enrico Pieranunzi joins with two of the icon’s sidemen in drummer Paul Motian and bassist Marc Johnson during a December 1996 gig at the Copenhagen Jazzhouse. The team is adept at changing directions, dynamics and moods at the drop of a paradiddle, as Pieranunzi goes from a romantic solo to a boppish delight with Johnson’s nimble solo on “Invitation” taking the listener on a multi-themed ride. The drummer’s own “Abacus” goes from funky to slinky, and his brushes waft to the pianist’s “The Night Gone By” with a mix of waltzing romance and soft spring to the swing. Johnson weaves around the teammates like a trainer in an obstacle course on the snappy “Everything I Own” after the takes the baton from Pieranunzi’s opening aria. The three give ebullient ferver to “Pannonica” while the three make the candle flicker on an intimate “Body & Soul/If I Should Lose You”. Three wise men.