Benny Green & Russell Malone: Jazz at the Bistro

BENNY GREEN & RUSSELL MALONE
JAZZ AT THE BISTRO

Telarc

Jazz piano/guitar duets can be an exercise in boredom, no matter how good the individuals involved are, or they can be lessons in minimalism, where less truly is more. The latter is the case with the duos of Bill Evans and Jim Hall as well as the wealth of recorded work by Oscar Peterson and Joe Pass, and the same kind of inspiration is present on Benny Green and Russell Malone’s latest, Jazz at the Bistro.

Recorded over a four night stand at St. Louis club the Bistro, these performances feature the duo rolling through a repertoire that includes compositions by some of jazz’s best composers and performers, including Thelonious Monk (“Ask Me Now”), Billy Taylor (“A Bientot”), Cannonball Adderley (“Wabash”), John Coltrane (“Moment’s Notice/Lazy Bird”), and Billy Strayhorn (“The Intimacy of the Blues”). Green, a classically-trained pianist who first came to notice with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, and Malone, a charming guitarist who has worked with Jimmy Smith, Harry Connick Jr,. Diana Krall, Regina Belle, and Peabo Bryson, fit together very well musically. Green offers a delicate touch, loads of post-bop dexterity, and a real gift for melody, while Malone fills in with bluesy riffs, a great sense of time and swing.

The two also have worked extensively with Ray Brown, and in many respects he is the missing third member of this group. Listening to these two swing and stride their way through Joe Raposo’s “Sing” you might swear you could hear Brown’s walking bass in there, so perfect are Green and Malone’s sense of time. Jazz at the Bistro is dedicated to Ray Brown, and Green says, “He (Brown) treated me, as he did Russell, as a son.” Brown would be happy to know that the traditions he passed on are in such good hands.

Listening to these guys is just plain fun because it’s clear that they are having a really good time playing. In fact, you could easily think that they were just jamming in someone’s living room and you just happened to be listening in, such is the sense of ease and relaxation associated with this music. On Addereley’s “Wabash,” for example, Green offers a solo of wonderful note choices and the right space in the right spot, while Malone offers banjo-sounding chords that erupt into a lesson on guitar styles, from the funky to the classic. The back-to-back solo features, “Killing Me Softly” and “How Deep Is Your Love?” are a study in contrast and virtuosity. First Green offers his Oscar Peterson-esque take on “Killing Me Softly, “ then Malone breaks into an out-of-time ballad rendition of “How Deep Is Your Love” that highlights the song’s melodic beauty. Each performer also brings out an original composition. Green’s “Quiet Girl” at times recalls Bill Evans, while Malone’s “Hand-Told Stories,” dedicated to Tommy Flanagan, is as light and delicate as spun sugar.

Perhaps jazz piano/guitar duets aren’t for everyone. They require a great deal of close listening and concentration on the part of the listener, and some find it difficult to listen to these two instruments without the complement of bass and drums. But in the right hands, the combination provides a magical listening experience. Benny Green and Russell Malone possess four of the best hands around, and Jazz at the Bistro is indeed well worth checking out.