Eddie Daniels & Roger Kellaway – Live at Library of Congress – IPO

by | Nov 24, 2011 | Jazz CD Reviews

Eddie Daniels, clarinet & Roger Kellaway, piano – Live at the Library of Congress – IPO Recordings *****:
Both of these highly-respected performers are equally at home in the classical or jazz genres and most anything else. Together and separately they already account for a half dozen releases on the IPO label. And this is actually a sequel to their earlier IPO duo album, A Duet of One. This is not one of those historical concerts from the Library of Congress issued by Bridge, but a new recording made February 25, 2010 in the Library’s Coolidge Auditorium.
Eddie Daniels is a Renaissance virtuoso who has helped to bring down the walls between classical and jazz. One is reminded of Benny Goodman’s straddling of the jazz and classical worlds. Daniels was known for his work with the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Band, and has won numerous Grammy awards and nominations. Roger Kellaway has composed for the New York City Ballet, LA Philharmonic and the National Symphony, and has been musical director for Bobby Darin, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Van Morrison, and at the Hollywood Bowl. He wrote a two-hour program on Kurt Weill for West German Radio, the score for the London production of Lenny, directed a tour of Kevin Spacey’s Beyond the Sea and dedicated his Heroes trio album to Oscar Peterson. My personal favorites are his two Cello Quartet albums.
Since the ten tunes here are just for clarinet and piano, they quite naturally skirt the classical area as well as jazz in their delightful improvisations. With music from Gershwin, Bernstein, Sondheim and Monk they have a head start on musical success. There are also three originals from Kellaway himself and one from Daniels. Nearly all the tracks are over six minutes length and the opener—a rousing “Strike Up the Band” of Gershwin—is eight and half minutes. In the middle of the concert is a rather funky version of an unexpected choice: “America the Beautiful.”  The duo provides some fresh and very enjoyable listening.
TrackList:  Strike Up the Band, Capriccio Twilight, Somewhere, Rhythm-a-ning, America the Beautiful, Etude of a Woman/Pretty Women, Just Friends, A Place that You Want to Call Home, 50-State Rambler.
—John Sunier

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