Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Aki Takase / Han Bennink: Two for Two

89

Aki Takase / Han Bennink: Two for Two

By

View read count
Aki Takase / Han Bennink: Two for Two
Sparks should surely fly when two of the most creative musicians on the planet come together, shouldn't they? Well in this case, no. Pianist Aki Takase and drummer Han Bennink bring heavy experience to bear when they play, but in this case their efforts are underscored by a combination of tentativeness and heavy-handed humor.

The latter hasn't been so leaden in the past and has been a welcome part of their work but here, as exemplified by the reading of "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?," the quality is painted on thick enough to coat all nuances. The result is irritating, like the sound of a couple of musicians for whom the past is nothing but a place rife for ridicule. Such are their legacies that it's obvious they don't take that view, which makes it seem even odder.

Takase has always had a highly personal take on Thelonious Monk's music and this comes to the fore on that composer's "Raise Four," even though the lack of a third player somehow lends the music a perfunctory air, an impression compounded by the way it dies at the close.

The opening passage of "Rolled Up" is also rife with promise and, while this is one of the more successful encounters in the program that promise, it isn't really fulfilled. Instead, the feeling of a couple of musicians going through the motions prevails, especially when Takase falls to quoting from "I'm Beginning to see the Light."

The duo's reading of the title track is, at least, a reminder of why Bennink is considered by some to be the greatest European jazz drummer; but, again, the joy is fleeting, as the music soon falls to a lower level which at least provides continuity with the rest of the program.

Track Listing

Two for two; My Tokyo; Locomotive; Zankapfel; Knut; Baumkuchen; Monochrome; Raise Four; Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?; A chotto matte; Hat and Beard; Ohana Han; Rolled Up; Hell und dunkel; Hommage to Thelonious Monk; Two for Two.

Personnel

Aki Takase: piano; Han Bennink: drums.

Album information

Title: Two For Two | Year Released: 2011 | Record Label: Intakt Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.