For some reason, this 2088 meeting between trombonist and the legendary pianist Hank Jones (long with bassist Peter Washington) has been hidden in the shelves. This just might be Jones’ last recording, having left for his reward in 2010 and still recovering from heart surgery. It’s not for historic sake that this album is so important; more to the point that what Jones represents on this collection of tunes is what makes this album needing to be listened to again, and again and again, as its what’s missing in so much of today’s music, namely love.
I’ve seen Jones in every setting from solo to drummerless trio and beyond; he’s in classic form here, floating like a frothy foam on a root beer on “Interface” as Washington adds the sublime swing underneath Davis’ lyrical brass. Jones is as elegant as a tuxedo as Davis coos out “Isn’t It Romantic”, and is stately on his stride touch, which seems to exude history on every ivory, for “Cry Me A River”. A duet with Davis closes things out on “We’ll Be Together Again”, but feel free to put this alongside Jones’ meeting with Roberta Gambarini and his teaming with Charlie Haden for reasons to love modern music.