Kevin Fort: Chiaroscuro

The combination of piano and guitar seems to be a potential no-brainer for artistic jazz expression, yet not many successful attempts exist, on record anyway. The obvious victories and inspirations are the two albums by hall-of-famers Bill Evans and Jim Hall , Undercurrent (Blue Note, 1962) and Intermodulation (Verve, 1966).

The Chicago-area pianist Kevin Fort is transparent about the influence of Undercurrent in notes that accompany Fort's album with under-heralded guitarist Andy Brown, Chiaroscuro. Yet the stronger comparison could be that famous duo's second album, for reasons of production and style. Undercurrent presented Evans and Hall in relatively close quarters, so that a stereo effect was fairly negligible. On Intermodulation, the musicians were separated, more like a concert presentation would be; on Chiaroscuro, producer Vijay Tellis-Nayak chose to mix these two talents with separation. The playing on Intermodulation swung more, and the production value enhanced the duo's rapport; on Chiaroscuro, the swing element is pronounced—the opener a vibrant take on the classic "How Deep Is the Ocean" and the closer a rapid version of "Night and Day"—and the separation enhances Fort and Brown's synchronicity, making this album a refreshingly intimate but stirring experience.

That Fort associates with Evans is clear from the start; his lyrical bent shines on original material like the title cut and the flowing "Dark Flower." But Fort's stylistic approach here sounds more like Tommy Flanagan or Red Garland. After the spirited "How Deep..." comes Fort's lilting waltz "Morning Light" and a close-to-the-vest rendition of the ballad "For Heaven's Sake," before a stride-like "Leroy" and a bop-ish, unison-heavy "Yardbird Suite." Brown, one of Chicago's finest, sounds like his predecessor Hall, with precise picking, sustained and bent notes, and inner swing; his solo on "Leroy" is pristine and joyful. (The call-and-response section is especially pleasing.) Hall's occasional Latin bent is exhibited exquisitely by Brown on "Dark Flower." Often, the impression is of Brown as the "singer" supported by Fort. On "Morning Light" Fort sets up his partner with a pianistic flourish before the two close together, Brown's Ella Fitzgerald to Fort's Louis Armstrong.

Given the evident harmony between these two Chicago jazz veterans, enhanced by the sonic clarity and wisdom of Tellis-Nayak's production, Chiaroscuro is a resounding success in the Evans-Hall tradition and an example of partnership that upcoming musicians should emulate.