At the time that this encounter between two of the greatest-ever jazz violinists took place, Stéphane Grappelli was having a renaissance in his career, starting to constantly travel the world, while Jean-Luc Ponty was gaining fame for his playing with Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention.
Although Ponty was still a year away from leading his own fusion group, his style and sound were already largely set.
But, despite their difference in backgrounds, Ponty and Grappelli found a lot of common ground on this set due to their brilliant techniques and mutual respect.
With assistance from keyboardist Maurice Vander, guitarist Philip Catherine, bassist Tony Bonfils and drummer André Ceccarelli, the outing (last available domestically as an Inner City LP) is an example of Grappelli meeting Ponty on his own turf.
The younger violinist wrote and arranged all five songs, which include "Bowing-Bowing," "Memorial Jam for Stuff Smith," and "Violin Summit No.
2." Although the music leans closer to fusion than to swing, Grappelli fits in surprisingly well.
A very interesting set.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bowing-Bowing | Jean-Luc Ponty, Stéphane Grappelli | Play | 06:30 | 14 MB | 153 MB |
| 2 | Golden Green | Jean-Luc Ponty, Stéphane Grappelli | Play | 04:44 | 10 MB | 108 MB |
| 3 | Memorial Jam for Stuff Smith | Jean-Luc Ponty, Stéphane Grappelli | Play | 06:52 | 15 MB | 157 MB |
| 4 | Violin Summit No. 2 | Jean-Luc Ponty, Stéphane Grappelli | Play | 09:58 | 22 MB | 226 MB |
| 5 | Valerie | Jean-Luc Ponty, Stéphane Grappelli | Play | 07:00 | 16 MB | 156 MB |
| 35 mins | 80 MB | |||||
| 35 mins | 802 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stéphane Grappelli | Primary Artist |
| 2 | Jean-Luc Ponty | Primary Artist |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |