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Listening to these great artists perform together is a treat, of course, but for me there was too little variety in the selections. I've learned to play this CD in installments; otherwise I get either depressed or sleepy. If you're hoping for either, this could be the CD for you. Otherwise, I'd look elsewhere in Warner's and Thielemans' repertoires.
I have treasured Toots Thielemans for decades and especially his 2 Brazilian projects. Well what else could be said about this musician. One of the finest Jazz Musician around and no one could improve on that statement. He has played with all the Jazz Greats. No wonder being Himself One of Them. This album is state of the art sensuality "made a la Toots" with fabulous arrangements "the Belgian Chocolate of the Harmonica Sound par Excellence". Bruno Pierre Gebarski (Hamburg Germany)
With two wonderful melody players playing really lovely ballads, this CD radiates warmth. Toots has a wonderful melodic flow no matter whether he is playing a ballad or an up tempo bop tune. I have loved the music of Toots Thielemans since I first heard him with the George Shearing Quintet. It is all slow and relaxed, but certainly not boring. On this CD, he is playing only ballads, and with another musician who has the same sense of melodic flow. Werner is a very technically proficient pianist, but he allows the technique to be at the command of the melody. Of course, Toots is never, ever boring. One of the best Toots CDs I've ever heard, and I love all of them.
He's unbelievable. Just Joking. But nevertheless this compact disc could easily be considered an extraordinary achievement. the two seem telepatically linked. I love him. But here he choose a ballad program. Ballads which he plays with incredible tenderness and romanticism at a level only he can reach.
But be aware that it is a romantic and intense ballad program the one contained here that's why I gave this cd only four stars. Extraordinary music is what is contained in this disc. He improvise too obviously in a very nice manner. Anyway I enjoy this one very much too, don't get me wrong, maybe some tunes of it at a time. He plays grand piano but also a few keyboards here and there to add strings section. Really. He plays fantastic sublime melodic lines with his harmonica which has an unbelievable tender sound. He's unbelievable.
No one on Earth plays the harmonica the way he does. It could be a little heavy if you listen to it from its beginning to its end. It is a collaboration between him Teupen and Kuhn. With a bass player and a drummer and few fast tunes could be unreachable. A really strong album which to me has the only minus to be a strictly ballad one.
I have several Toots's records where he improvises on fast tunes and he can blow every musician away. Infact he's a very good bop guitarist (and an exceptional whistler too) but here he did concentrate only on the harmonica thing. This is a duo album so it is very intimate in its atmosphere. That's for sure. For example recently I purchased "Just friends" another Toots album which is really really great.
But yes, you're right, that would be completly another project. It is a more interesting program in my opinion and the line up is more entertaining too. Harp, harmonica, piano, doublebass and drums. I'm not THAT romantic.
Toots Thielemans is truly one of the few Jazz greats still alive and well. Another fantastic one from Toots is "Live takes" which is on Amazon too. The harmonica is the only instrument he plays here. Toots's pal here is Kenny Werner a really gifted piano player which is a perfect companion for Toots in this ballad program.
The music is fantastic like in this cd but a little more varied. Toots rules.
Together with Kenny Werner this album took a totally indescribable shape. Words cannot describe the beauty and the mastery of Mr. The music is beautiful beyond this world. Thielemans' music. He has once again expressed his soul through harmonica. If I could I would give it a million stars but even that would not describe my gratitude and appreciation for this music. It truly grabs your soul.
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