While it's commonplace to record entire programs of Ellington, especially in duet and trio form, this set was issued well before the 100th anniversary of the master, and is dedicated to the most difficult to nuance material in Ellington's book: the ballads. The approach here is very different as well. While playing ballads means playing tunes that are soft and slow, it doesn't mean that they are necessarily played in that way, only that they convey the emotion and articulation of the composer. Saxophonist Gunther Klatt and pianist Ake Takase have taken standards from "In a Sentimental Mood,""Prelude to a Kiss,""Lush Life,""Sophisticated Lady," and others, and made them songs for improvising upon. Klatt and Takase are interested in exploring tonal and timbral notions in these nuggets wherever possible, wringing from them every ounce of blues and hidden meaning they can muster. Nowhere is this more evident than on Billy Strayhorn's "Chelsea Bridge," where Takase plays in counterpoint the entire melody as an arpeggiatic scale before Klatt glides in with his tenor to play the tune faithfully, wresting Ben Webster's emotional edge from it, and consequently sticking into the minors the peculiar blues angle that the tune suggests but never manifests -- other than here. This is a honey of an album and a way of hearing Ellington that doesn't sound rote, strained, or academic. Highly recommended. - Tom Jurek
Tracks
01. Prelude To A Kiss (Ellington/Mills/Gordon)
02. Warm Blue (Klatt)
03. Strangehorn (Klatt)
04. Chelsea Bridge (Strayhorn)
05. Lush Life (Strayhorn)
06. Warm Valley (Ellington)
07. Giudecca (Klatt)
08. Sophisticated Lady (Ellington)
09. In A Sentimental Mood (Ellington/Mills/Kurz)
10. Strangehorn (Second Version) (Klatt)
11. In A Sentimental Mood (Second Version) (Ellington/Mills/Kurz)
12. Lush Life (Second Version) (Strayhorn)
AKI TAKASE piano
GUNTER KLATT tenor saxophone
Recorded April 25 & 26, 1990, 'live' at Trixi Studio, Munich.
TUTU Records – TUTU CD 888 116