Duets From Strangers And Old Friends

The first of these duo recordings is from two musicians meeting for the first time. The second comes from long-time acquaintances. The compatibility of the playing on both is so high you would be hard-pressed to tell which was which.

Pierrick Pedron & Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Pedron Rubalcaba
Gazebo
2023

French saxophonist Pierrick Pedron and Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba had never met before entering a New York studio in June 2022 to record this album. Listening to them play, one would never guess that. They tentatively engage each other at the beginning of the opening track, "The Song Is You" but quickly slide into a free- wheeling dialogue that continues throughout the album. The tunes played here are a mix of well-known standards and works by prominent jazz composers. Pedron and Rubalcaba toss frisky Thelonious Monk-ish solos back and forth on Jackie McLean's "Five Will Get You Ten," and speed wildly through George Russell's "Ezz- thetic." Pedrick's alto rolls like Lee Konitz on this one as Rubalcaba goes on a manic solo spree.

The strength of their collaboration is really heard in aspects of the more subdued tracks, the wispy Johnny Hodges-like alto swoops and bluesy piano on Billy Strayhorn's "Pretty Girl," the pair's impish, slow interplay on Sidney Bechet's "Si Tu Vois Ma Mere" and the measured calm of their playing on Carla Bley's "Lawns." On Henry Mancini's "Dreamsville." Pedron sails through the melody with an air of dreamy romance while Rubalcaba's surging chords eventually develop into a wandering fantasia. These two men show amazing empathy with each other for a first meeting.

Lorenzo De Finti
Lullabies From An Unknown Time
Losen
2023

By contrast, pianist Lorenzo De Finti and trumpeter Fabrizio Bosso are long-time friends which is evident from the way their playing fits together on this album. Bosso only appears on six of the nine tracks here while De Finti plays solo on the others. Bosso's clear and direct sound blends beautifully with De Finti's romantic sweep on "Solitary Perception" and "This Unknown Heart of Mine" and his quietly dynamic sound is really enchanting on the Venezuelan folk song, "Como Busca." There is also a nice tension between staccato piano notes and melodic trumpet drama on "Will You Still Be There?" De Finti's three solo performances are all worthwhile as well. He plays with hesitant delicacy on "The Nightingale" and "Emotional Landscape" and dances elegantly through Chick Corea's "Crystal Silence."

Tracks and Personnel

Pedron Rubalcaba

Tracks: The Song is You; Ezz-Thetic; Lawns; Si Tu Vois Ma Mere; Dreamsville; Five Will Get You Ten; The Folks Who Live on the Hill, Pretty; Girl.

Personnel: Pierrick Pedron: alto saxophone; Gonzalo Rubalcaba: piano.

Lullabies From An Unknown Time

Tracks: Solitary Perception; WIll You Still BeThere?; The Nightingale; Close (As Two Stars); Andante (From Suite No. 1 for Small Orchestra); Crystal Silence; Como Busca; Emotional Landscape; This Unknown Heart Of Mine.

Personnel: Lorenzo De Finti: piano; Fabrizio Bosso: trumpet (1,2,4,5,7,9).

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