The Drummonds: Pas De Trois

”Come on, honey, let’s go to lunch with the boss again today at his favorite greasy spoon.”

”Can you cancel your three o’clock meeting this afternoon in order to cover for me at our other establishment in New Jersey? You have just enough time to make it if you drive fast.”

”These expense reports border on fraudulent business practices. You have really screwed things up this time.”

Some couples can do this, and some cannot.

Billy Drummond and Renee Rosnes do it very well. And they’ve already been married for 11 years.

This is the second album they’ve issued with Ray Drummond. Keeping piano in the foreground, the trio lolls effortlessly through a program of soothing, mellow ballads. No, not the smooth jazz kind. Renee Rosnes improvises with a refreshing technique and a carefree, creative manner. Her melodic sequences ebb and flow with seamless motion. What makes her performance special is the way she takes liberties with harmony while leaving the substitutions subtle and, at times, unnoticed.

”Golden Earrings” places the trio in a situation where each solos and the arrangement turns dramatic. The rest of the album soothes the spirit with the relaxed passion that Rosnes exhibits quite well. The three Drummonds have been working together like this since 1990. It all comes quite naturally, and the listener stands by as benefactor when this highly recommended album starts to play.

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