The duo of Archie Shepp and Mal Waldron come together beautifully here – in a mode that echoes some of the duets that pianist Waldron recorded with other reedmen in the 70s and 80s, but which has an especially wonderful contribution from Shepp! Archie blows both tenor and soprano sax – and the warmth of his horn in later years is really perfect here – especially as the album's sometime of an update of Waldron's earlier Left Alone classic, recorded after the death of Billie Holiday at the end of the 50s. As with that one, the tunes here include some numbers very strongly tied to Billie's legacy, but the vibe is very different, and very personal along the lines of the spirit of Shepp and Waldron. Titles include "Lady Sings The Blues", "Left Alone", "Easy Living", "Everything Happens To Me", "When Your Lover Has Gone", and "Blues For 52nd Street". CD

The duo of Archie Shepp and Mal Waldron come together beautifully here – in a mode that echoes some of the duets that pianist Waldron recorded with other reedmen in the 70s and 80s, but which has an especially wonderful contribution from Shepp! Archie blows both tenor and soprano sax – and the warmth of his horn in later years is really perfect here – especially as the album's sometime of an update of Waldron's earlier Left Alone classic, recorded after the death of Billie Holiday at the end of the 50s. As with that one, the tunes here include some numbers very strongly tied to Billie's legacy, but the vibe is very different, and very personal along the lines of the spirit of Shepp and Waldron. Titles include "Lady Sings The Blues", "Left Alone", "Easy Living", "Everything Happens To Me", "When Your Lover Has Gone", and "Blues For 52nd Street". CD

A wonderful pairing of talents – the moody, enigmatic piano of Ran Blake – and the sharp-toned alto of Anthony Braxton! The set's a sublime piano/sax duet to match similar experiments by Mal Waldron and Marion Brown, or Archie Shepp and Dollar Brand – and it's an added plus for folks like us who dig the straighter side of Braxton's playing – as the set's mostly built around jazz standards, which are put forth in these core, blocky, modernist modes by Blake – then given a soulful finish on the top by Braxton! Titles include "Four", "Soul Eyes", "Just Friends", "Round Midnight", and "Yardbird Suite". CD

A wonderful pairing of talents – the moody, enigmatic piano of Ran Blake – and the sharp-toned alto of Anthony Braxton! The set's a sublime piano/sax duet to match similar experiments by Mal Waldron and Marion Brown, or Archie Shepp and Dollar Brand – and it's an added plus for folks like us who dig the straighter side of Braxton's playing – as the set's mostly built around jazz standards, which are put forth in these core, blocky, modernist modes by Blake – then given a soulful finish on the top by Braxton! Titles include "Four", "Soul Eyes", "Just Friends", "Round Midnight", and "Yardbird Suite". CD