Duo piano recordings have been dismissed as a gimmick by many critics and even a few pianists, including the late Tommy Flanagan, but the pairing of two pianists often produces outstanding results.
This is the case in the pairing of Oliver Jones (a Canadian who deserves to be better known worldwide) with the legendary Hank Jones, who remains active into his nineties and who has recorded duo piano albums with Flanagan, George Shearing, and John Lewis, in addition to taking part in the one-off Jazz Piano Quartet with Dick Hyman, Sir Roland Hanna, and Marian McPartland.
The sessions are a tribute in part to Oscar Peterson, as both men knew him well and Oliver studied piano with Peterson's sister.
They add a rhythm section (bassist Brandi Disterheft and drummer Jim Doxas) on the first three tracks, highlighted by a soulful, gospel-inflected take of "Groove Merchant." Five of the remaining seven selections are duo piano sans rhythm section, including a romp through "Makin' Whoopee," an elegant "Star Eyes," and two powerful interpretations of Peterson originals "Blues for Big Scotia" and "Cakewalk." Hank Jones has two solo features, a thoughtful rendition of "Monk's Mood" and William Steigmeyer's rarely performed "Lonely Woman." Both pianists are on hand for Oliver Jones' warm tribute to Peterson, "I Remember OP.".
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Groove MerchantJerome Richardson | Hank Jones, Oliver Jones | Play | 05:18 | 12 MB | 39 MB |
| 2 | RipplesHank Jones | Hank Jones, Oliver Jones | Play | 04:19 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 3 | Makin' WhoopeeGus Kahn | Hank Jones, Oliver Jones | Play | 04:44 | 10 MB | 22 MB |
| 4 | I'll Remember AprilDe Paul | Hank Jones, Oliver Jones | Play | 05:19 | 12 MB | 25 MB |
| 5 | Star EyesDe Paul | Hank Jones, Oliver Jones | Play | 06:09 | 14 MB | 28 MB |
| 6 | Blues for Big ScotiaOscar Peterson | Hank Jones, Oliver Jones | Play | 04:55 | 11 MB | 25 MB |
| 7 | CakewalkOscar Peterson | Hank Jones, Oliver Jones | Play | 04:38 | 10 MB | 23 MB |
| 8 | Monk's MoodThelonious Monk | Hank Jones, Oliver Jones | Play | 02:32 | 5 MB | 11 MB |
| 9 | I Remember OPOliver Jones | Hank Jones, Oliver Jones | Play | 06:41 | 15 MB | 28 MB |
| 10 | Lonely Woman | Hank Jones, Oliver Jones | Play | 01:48 | 4 MB | 8 MB |
| 11 | What Am I Here For | Hank Jones | Play | 06:29 | 14 MB | 41 MB |
| 52 mins | 121 MB | |||||
| 52 mins | 284 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karen Birdgenaw | Art Direction |
| 2 | Brandi Disterheft | Bass |
| 3 | Jim Doxas | Drums |
| 4 | Duke Ellington | Composer |
| 5 | Hank Jones | Composer, Liner Notes, Piano, Primary Artist |
| 6 | Oliver Jones | Composer, Liner Notes, Piano, Primary Artist |
| 7 | Gus Kahn | Composer |
| 8 | Jean-Pierre Leduc | Producer |
| 9 | Frank Marino | Engineer |
| 10 | Thelonious Monk | Composer |
| 11 | De Paul | Composer |
| 12 | Oscar Peterson | Composer |
| 13 | Jerome Richardson | Composer |
| 14 | Billy Szawlowski | Engineer, Mastering, Mixing |
| 15 | Jim West | Producer |
| 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). |