This duet date from 1990 demonstrates the deep
blues feeling and technical mastery
Archie Shepp has on the tenor saxophone. Comprised of four
standards --
"Things Ain't What They Used to Be," "Body and Soul," "Pannonica," and
"'Round Midnight" -- this set is one of
Shepp's most enjoyable ever. The reasons are myriad, but it is in large part due to the fluid, loping bass of
Richard Davis. Recorded in a club in front of a live audience,
Shepp digs deep into his own history of influential tenor players and comes out not wanting, but on par with them, from
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis to
Sonny Rollins to
John Coltrane. His playing here is big, meaty, and warm, full of subtle emotions as well as bleating cries.
Davis' sense of time and melody is nearly incredible on the title track and on
"'Round Midnight." The interplay
Shepp shares with him is tasty, coming from fragmentary elements in
Monk's changes;
Shepp and
Davis move around the lyric and cut to the heart of the tune's color and ambiguity. It's a haunting version and one that offers a completely different reading of the tune over 17 minutes. On
"Pannonica," Shepp's
blues feeling comes out of
Ben Webster as well as
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and his soloing is full of warmth, humor, and a ragged sort of elegance. This -- like
Shepp's date with
Horace Parlan,
Goin' Home -- is a major addition to the saxophonist's catalog. ~ Thom Jurek
