Search - Benny Green, Russell Malone :: Bluebird

Three's a Crowd

Samuel Chell | Kenosha,, WI United States | 06/23/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Advance copies of this album were available several months ahead of the official release--whether to allow for word-of-mouth promotion or a timelier, less competitive marketing moment is unclear. No matter, because it's timeless, mainstream music that sounds good regardless of time or season. Not that the program is predictable and unvaried. Quite the contrary, Green and Malone are able to come up with a line-up that surprises the listener at every turn, even though both stick to their respective instruments--no electric keyboards, distorted guitar, or double tracking.The program mixes classic Cole Porter ("It's Alright," "Love for Sale") with Wonder-Hathaway-Flack 70's pop ("You are the sunshine," "Where is the love," "Feel like making love") with movie and Broadway themes ("Moonglow," "Who can I turn to") with Oscar Peterson and Charlie Parker jazz standards ("Passport," " Bluebird," "Wheatland") and of course public domain (the blues). The two perform solo numbers and summon up a veritable history of jazz styles--from stride to boogie to swing to bebop to contemporary rock. Not surprisingly, Green evokes memories of Oscar Peterson but, especially in his improvising over his own walking bass lines, Dave McKenna as well; Russell Malone is a convincing Herb Ellis one moment, complete with the percussive rap on the body of the guitar, and the next he's a master at executing Wes Montgomery octaves.In short, these are two comparatively youthful yet seasoned musicians at the top of their game, turning in a performance of surprising richness, color, and variety. I expected a competent but necessarily restrained and homogenous session. To my surprise and delight, the absence of bass, drums, horns and vocals doesn't turn down the heat or interest for a second; if anything, it encourages these overachievers to air out their considerable talents to the maximum. They not only make up for the missing musicians but prove them gratuitous. Rate this album as the best jazz release of 2004 as of mid-year."

Poor sound mars a great performace

T. Butler | Chicago, IL United States | 08/12/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Great sound can't make a poor performance better, but bad sound can sure hurt a great one. Such is the case with Bluebird. Green turns in another great performance only to have it wrecked by the recording engineer. The piano mics are so poorly positioned that there are severe phase problems. This isn't a subjective judgment. Mono the two channels together and you get cancellation, rendering the CD almost unlistenable. Proper phase is 101 in recording. How Green and his producer selected an engineer that can't properly mic a two instrument performance is a mystery. This has got to be the worst sounding major jazz release in years. Two instruments and the guy screws it up. Please Mr. Engineer find another occupation that doesn't require listening skills.



I would have given this four stars if the recording wasn't so bad.

"

As good as the first one

Cedric Westphal | san francisco, ca | 01/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is Benny Green and Russell Malone second effort together. They played together on 'jazz at the bistro', a live recording in St Louis a few years back. Jazz at the bistro is a great cd, so good that they decided it needed a sequel. And the sequel is as good as the original.



It is mostly standards, with a few pop-ish songs ('you are the sunshine of my life'). The duo piano-guitar works flawlessly: when BG improvises, RM provides a steady bass line, either walking or drumming the chords. And reciprocally when RM solos. They really listen to each other and interplay a lot. They understand each other so well, it seems the music has been written down.



It is hard to say which one to pick between this one and 'jazz at the bistro'. I did not choose, I have both, but anyone interested in trying one of these cannot go wrong with either. Some might say 'bluebird' is not as good as 'jazz at the bistro': the reason would only be because they listened to the latter first, and the former did not create the surprise of the chemistry between BG and RM.



As far as the sound comment made by a reviewer below, I don't see where he is coming from. I don't have a super fancy stereo equipment, but a reasonable one, and I don't hear any imperfections. And I do listen quite closely for the many subtelties in this cd."