Van Sant/Palmer Jazz Duo Play the Music of Horace Silver – Lei’zure LZR-011 [wwwKevinVanSant.com] *****:
(Kevin Van Sant, hollow body elec. guitar/Ben Palmer, acoustic doublebass)
Jazz duos of one instrument and piano are fairly popular, but one doesn’t often come across a duo of two string instruments. Van Sant and Palmer have been performing together for a dozen years and have appeared three times at the Montreux Jazz Festival; this is their third CD.
The duo’s focus this time is entirely on 11 compositions of the great Horace Silver, covering nearly 20 years’ worth of his career. They are lovingly performed and take on a quite different life in this chamber-music-like instrumentation vs. the originals by Silver’s band. I had forgotten that the gorgeous Lonely Woman was a Horace Silver tune. Most of the tracks are five or six minutes length, allowing time for a relaxed appreciation of the song-writing genius of the composer-pianist. The rich tonal qualities of both the guitar and bass are well-captured on the CD. A tasty disc either for background or front-row concentrated listening!
TrackList: Strollin’, Silver’s Serenade, Peace, Soulville, Juicy Lucy, Lonely Woman, Nica’s Dream, Summer in Central Park, Enchantment, Ecaroh, Calcutta Cutie.
– John Henry
