Decade

LEE KONITZ & DAN TEPFER: Decade
Verve, 2018

IMPROV JAZZ DUETS – Sax legend Lee Konitz (age 90) and pianist Dan Tepfer have collaborated several times, but this is only their second recording (the first was in 2007). The freely improvised tracks are more conversation than experiment, and have a quiet, intimate feel. Track 7 features a Disklavier player piano that responds to their improv using programmed algorithms, for a cool resonant effect.

NOTE: Each track ends with several seconds of silence.

Fo’s Picks: 1, 3, 7, 9, 10, 13, 15

1. 2:33 – raindrop piano, pensive sax
2. 3:49 – moody interplay turns dark
3. 2:40 – low scurry, jabbing middle
4. 4:27 – fragile trills, rising sax cries
5. 1:34 – intricate layered piano
6. 3:11 – layered sax lines intersect
7. 6:03 – rumbling, billowing duet
8. 1:08 – sax overdubs poke ‘n’ peep
9. 4:25 – slow > rhythmic > gentle
10. 2:16 – relaxed, casual & songlike
11. 1:39 – music box piano tinkle
12. 1:59 – sneaky duet, expands
13. 2:42 – spinning, slow sax & scat
14. 0:59 – questioning sax layers
15. 7:00 – standard: relaxed duet dances around melody

[ Fo ] - 25 July 2018