Trombonist
Conrad Herwig and pianist
Andy LaVerne picked some beautiful, modern tunes for this duo session. In addition to music by
McCoy Tyner,
Chick Corea,
Joe Henderson,
John Coltrane,
Hubert Laws, and
George Cables, they tangle with
Brubeck's "In Your Own Sweet Way,"
Ellington's "African Flower," and
Jobim's "If You Never Come to Me." (
Corea's "Crystal Silence," famously played by its author and
Gary Burton as a piano/vibes duet, is a particularly good choice.) Few besides
Herwig can get the ungainly trombone to sing and turn corners like this; his rapport with
LaVerne, one of Steeplechase's most sophisticated and prolific artists, is often breathtaking. This record came out around the same time as
Wycliffe Gordon and
Eric Reed's We, and makes for an interesting comparison. ~ David R. Adler