Yvonnick Prené & Geoffrey Keezer: Jobim's World

If there's such a thing as casual sophistication, Yvonnick Prené has it in spades. That aspect of this chromatic harmonica pro's playing has shown itself to varying degrees across his discography and it's highly pronounced in these gorgeous and intimate duo performances with pianist Geoffrey Keezer.

After releasing Listen! (Sunnyside, 2023) to great acclaim, this leader was looking to move away from that album's modernistic quintet format. So, in brainstorming with producer Daniel Yvinec, the idea of a tête-à-tête focusing on the work of Antonio Carlos Jobim emerged. Having studied and long admired Keezer's work, Prené realized he would be the ideal choice for this project. And the piano great was more than pleased to sign on. Arrangements were put in place—the harmonica heavy and pianist Laurent Courthaliac met for three days in September of 2023 to give shape to some of this music—and the Prené/Keezer partnership was cemented with an afternoon rehearsal before the recording session in November of the same year.

This nine-song program features a handful of the eponymous figure's classics, two numbers from Jobim-adjacent composers, and a pair of complementary Prené pieces. Opener "Triste"—the lone work arranged by the leader and Courthaliac together—presents with rubato before settling into a relaxed groove. Blithesome as can be, featuring smiling solos and some well-written unison lines, it exemplifies the charm in this pair's pursuits. Pixinguinha and Benedito Lacerda's "Proezos De Solon," an effervescent choro winner, and Henri Salvador's "Dans Mon île," a dreamy island wandering (and the first of Courthaliac's five arrangements), follow.

Prené's writing contributions—"Vagues á Lames," referencing the album subject's "Wave," and the inquisitive "Too Many Notes," with pointillistic designs—each make for engaging inclusions that serve to break up a potential Jobim block. And as for the remaining choices from the book of "Tom," it's classics all the way. There's "The Girl from Ipanema," loyal to the template yet never prosaic; "Tide," with well-formed angles and upbeat undulations; "Desafinado," boiled down to its beautifully twinkling essence; and "Double Rainbow," a bounding sign of good tidings located at the far edge of Jobim's World.