Music Monday: Duos

This week is spring break and I’m looking forward to catching up on all sorts of projects that I’ve allowed to linger about. I also look forward to taking a deeper dive into the massive William Parker box set and follow some of the directions that he traces in those recordings.

For example, I’ve really enjoyed the solo piano of Eri Yamamoto on the second disk of the Parker box set called Child of Sound. Her version of the Parker original, “Malachi’s Mode,” is really great. It got me exploring her discography a bit more especially because I’ve been in the mood for piano jazz lately. A listen to Cecil Taylor’s Return Concert album sort of triggered this “return” to piano jazz which Yamamoto, who plays in a very different style, consolidated. 

I found myself particularly drawn to her set of duo recordings called Duologue. It helps, of course, that the artists on this album are among my favorites: Hamid Drake, Daniel Carter, and William Parker (I’m just not as familiar with drummer Federico Ughi). The album consists of a series duos with Yamamoto on piano. The tracks range from the subtle to the arresting (especially those featuring Daniel Carter), but I’ve found that they all commanded my attention. 

The other set of piano duos that I listened to this past week was Sullivan Fortner and Kyle Athayde’s Tea for Two. I don’t know Athayde at all, but the play vibes on this album with pianist Fortner. I first heard Fortner on the new Allison Shearer album, A View from Above, and admired his style. Tea for Two gives his distinctly bluesy bop sensibilities pride of place by featuring a number of jazz standards where Athayde provides a kind of atmospheric backdrop to Fortner’s piano. Fortner keeps things from drifting into the ether, but it’s Athayde’s vibes that give the entire project coherence. It’s definitely worth a listen.