Eric Vloeimans & Will Holshouser: Two For The Road-

The trumpet and the accordion may seem like an incompatible musical combination, and perhaps that may be so, except in the hands of Dutch trumpeter Eric Vloeimans and American accordionist Will Holshouser. Their dynamic and demonstrative interaction is on full display in this live concert recorded during a tour of the Netherlands in 2021 and is appropriately entitled Two For The Road.

In this twelve track concert, nine of the compositions come from the pen of Eric Vloeimans, two by Will Holshouser with one outlier, "Rainbow Connection," by Kenny Ascher and Paul Williams. The music is eclectic in nature and covers a vibrant array of sounds, starting with "Tibi Gratias." While this is a rather melancholy opener it is not a harbinger of what follows later in the disc. It does however give a taste of the clear bright tone that Vloeimans delivers on his trumpet. Will Holshouser's "Deep Gap" is named for a county in North Carolina where blues/folk/country guitarist Doc Watson was born and lived all his life. All those varied influences pop up throughout the number and are deftly explored by the two players.

The previously noted song "Rainbow Connection" was written for the 1979 film The Muppet Movie (ITC Entertainment) and in 2020 was designated by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry. Vloeimans and Holshouser take turns probing the melody and providing the counterpoint which is very effective in delivering the musical message. The other Holshouser composition is "Rosebud Winter." identified as a long form jazz/folk chamber suite. The duo use the structure to take a look at the wistful and vigorous capabilities of their respective instruments recognizing that they are both capable of being highly original means of expression.

Trumpeter Vloeimans' composition "To Louis" is dedicated to one of his musical heroes, Louis Armstrong. It has a strong marching second line beat with Vloeimans' trumpet doing all the heavy lifting, and Holshouser providing the bass line using the accordion's stylistic bottom.