I picked up the second Joe Lovano and Hank Jones CD "Joyous Encounter" today and I may have to rethink not buying the first one, "I'm All for You." These guys really do play well together.
I avoided CD No. 1 because most reviews characterized it as all ballads and while I like a good ballad on occasion I tend not to get great value out of all-ballad CDs. Even Coltrane's "Ballads" sits for a long time between listenings.
When Lovano and Jones, with George Mraz on bass and Paul Motian drumming, started with a very ballady sounding "Autumn in New York," I got worried. But they picked it up midway through the song and they keep it fairly lively for much of the rest of the disk save for a couple lovely ballad side trips, such as "A Child is Born." Lovano's playing is near avant-garde in places and there are snatches where he reminds me of Archie Shepp. Hank Jones should bottle and sell whatever it is that allows a guy who will be 87 in July to keep playing with as much power as he shows on Coltrane's "Crescent."
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