Be warned. If you’re the sort of fan who prefers jazz performances in-your-face bristling with high octane aggression, go elsewhere.
Because, when two veteran virtuosi, Alan Barnes on a selection of reeds and David Newton on piano (combined ages totalling 131 years), have drawn on their lifelong music-making careers to complete a duet album exploring ten songs in nine tracks, ‘aggressive’ wouldn’t be the first adjective springing to mind.
Judging from the CD’s chosen title and material chosen from the further reaches of the jazz repertoire, this album would appear to be laced with contemplation, reminiscences and, perhaps, autobiographical overtones. The pace of this couple of much-garlanded, highly respected masters is relaxed and leisurely, almost sedate. But don’t be mistaken. The autumnal atmosphere doesn’t mean fireside pipe and slippers. Every note on this album pulses with electricity, vigour, invention and swing. And meaning.
Track one is Antonio Carlos Jobim’s rippling Brigas Nunca Mais, which translates as ‘No More Fights’, a sinuous bossa nova regarding romantic reconciliation. Newton initiates the insinuating rhythm and Barnes states the seductive melody in his clarinet’s resonant chalumeau register with long-held tones before stepping up to its higher reaches. The result is deceptively gentle yet propulsive. Neither drums nor bass are ever missed.
In 1966, Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote a brace of movie themes, A House Is Not A Home and Alfie and the duo, Barnes now flaunting his ravishing tone on alto saxophone and Newton switching imperceptibly between accompaniment and solo voice, find emotional depth without resorting to sentimentality.
In his intro to You’re My Thrill, a slinky ditty written by Jay Gorney and Sidney Clare in 1933, Newton classily augments the harmonies with gorgeous new chords. Then Barnes’ alto caresses the melody, creating new contours by artfully adding subtle accents and pauses developed over years of experience. It’s worth the entry price simply to hear how two old masters display their unified sense of approach and purpose.
Uxbridge-born composer Carroll Coates wrote the waltz London By Night in 1937, a couple of decades before Frank Sinatra took possession of the tune. Newton sketches the theme and Barnes, now reunited with Bb clarinet, enters the duet, sustaining and bending notes with artful economy plus a nod and a wink (sly quotes from London Bridge Is Falling Down and Fats Waller’s Jitterbug Waltz).
Henry Nemo wrote ’Tis Autumn in 1941 and, as choice of title track for this album,it’s right on the nose (interesting sidelight: Autumn In New York, ’Tis Autumn and Autumn Leaves are three stalwarts in the jazz repertoire yet, in the U.S., the season between summer and winter is called ‘fall’. Are there any famous ‘fall’ songs?) As if to underscore the album’s misty and mellow fruitful vibe, Barnes switches to bass clarinet, a.k.a. ‘the gloom tube’, to state the theme unaccompanied. Newton joins him to execute some neat stop chorus work, a few well-chosen gospely chords and suddenly we’re aware that we’re being delivered an object lesson in how to swing mightily at slow tempo.
Lucky To be Me from the 1944 musical ‘On The Town’, was written by maestro Leonard Bernstein. Newton and Barnes (now on tenor saxophone with distant reminders of Eli ‘Lucky’ Thompson), excavate its harmonic possibilities and issue fresh phrases without ever setting foot in dreaded clichéland.
Swift instrument change in the reeds and Barnes, whose flexible embouchure is worthy of preservation for the nation, is now blowing baritone saxophone (hommage to the immortal Harry Carney?) on Edward Kennedy ‘Duke’ Ellington’s exquisite 1945 composition, Tonight I Shall Sleep With A Smile On My Face. From the initial notes of the intro, Newton’s sensitive control of the keyboard is never less than masterly.
Gordon Jenkins and Nat ‘King’ Cole’s collaboration This Is All I Ask includes a plangent line laced with regret: “Beautiful girls/Walk a little slower/When you walk by me…” which could be the reason for its inclusion. Whatever, it’s performed with rhythmic subtlety and striking lyricism.
Finally (and appropriately), the unfamiliar A Bientôt, a moving lament composed by clarinettist Michael Andrew ‘Peanuts’ Hucko. Barnes accentuates its inherent wistfulness through his clarinet’s chalumeau register.
’Tis Autumn highlights the sophistication, virtuosity, experience and integrity of two forward-looking masters looking backwards. Curtis Schwartz is the engineer responsible for preserving, mixing and mastering their life-affirming memories and ideas at Ardingly on November 5th 2023.
’Tis Autumn bears repeated listening and may never stop providing rewards.
LINK: Buy ‘Tis Autumn from Presto Music
Menu
One Response
The same duo released “Summertime” in 2000 and (plus bass & drums) “Below Zero” in 1998, both on the Concord label. I don’t know if they’ve done a Spring album, but there are plenty of songs dedicated to that season.