I’ve never been fond of two piano situations, but the gorgeous Gray Moon, by the duo of Ran Blake & Frank Carlberg reminds me that it’s really not the instruments that matter, it’s the creative minds that manipulate them. Beautifully recorded in the thousand-seat Jordan Hall at the New England Conservatory (where Blake was the founding chair of their Contemporary Improvisation department from 1972 through 2005, and continues to teach full-time), this hour-plus recital issued on Carlberg’s Red Piano Records covers plenty of ground. The pair takes on music by composers as varied as Thelonious Monk (the slowest version of ‘Round Midnight you’re likely to encounter), Billy Strayhorn (a playful Take the ‘A’ Train), Mikis Theodorakis (the opening Vradiazi, a Blake favorite), George Russell (a relaxed Stratusphunk), and Vincent Youmans (a delightful Tea For Two). There are also explorations of several Blake originals, including Gunther’s Magic Row, delicately shaped by the two pianists, and Short Life of Barbara Monk, a musical meditation that first appeared as the title track of Blake’s 1986 Soul Note album, and has been revisited by him periodically over the years in several different contexts. Remarkably, Blake and Carlberg almost never get in one another’s way, and the entire session has the feeling of two very close friends in a distinctively focused conversation. The pair writes of their “attempt to bring disparate sources together forming a unified whole, guided by a shared aesthetic ...” They’ve succeeded most admirably with this thoroughly enjoyable program. Highly recommended.
Red Piano RPR 14599-4440; Ran Blake, Frank Carlberg (p); Boston, MA, July 5, 2016; Vradiazi/ Bebopper/ El Cant Dels Ocells/ Take the “A” Train/ Pinky/ Dr. Mabuse/ ‘Round Midnight/ Gunther’s Magic Row/ Stratusphunk/ Wish I Could Talk to You Baby/ Vanguard/ Memphis/ No More/ Tea For Two/ Short Life of Barbara Monk/ Mood Indigo; 62:49. www.redpianorecords.com
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