Guitars come in many sounds, sizes and shapes. Dan Rose likes soft pedals of strings, as exemplified on a pair of releases, one solo and the other a collection of duets.
The solo album is casual and personal interpretation of jazz standards, with lovely and romantically patient reads of “Body and Soul”, “Darn That Dream” and a graceful “Say It Over and Over Again”. There’s an ease to his approach her, bluesy on “Last Night When We Were Young” and using his strings for call and response on “Tenderly”. A night by the fire.
Rose is joined by pianist Claudine Francois for some impressionistic duets, dainty and playful on “Monk’s Dream,” gentle and indigo’d for the pianist’s own “Mr. Slaint” and dainty for his composition’ Yes I Do”. Francois is full fisted on a dramatic and tensile “Senor Blues” and crates sparkling trickles on “The Seagulls of Kristiansund” while “Lawns” is a personal and intimate watercolor. Nuanced conversations.