This CD is an intimate conversation between two old friends, and it has a familiarity and subtlety that one may miss on a perfunctory listening. I play a lot of music in my car, for example, NOT the best place to appreciate this album, as I quickly discovered. Not that this is a fragile or mundane musical experience; far from it. "Jumpin' at the Woodside" is a joyous happening; "Alone Together" fairly crackles with Latin energy and verve; and "Bernie's Tune" is a scorcher. It's just that the sounds of these two instruments do not scream for attention, and some of these musicians' interactions are as delicate and subtle as a fairy's kiss.

We are fortunate indeed to be invited to share in this special conversation. The parley commences with a minor Mingus classic; toe tapping abounds. The aforementioned "Manége" is a gentle jazz waltz, the melody handed as carefully from one to the other as a newborn. The sleeper on the CD is Leitham's "The Left Handed Blues," a funky little ditty with a truncated, train-like argument bursting out unpredictably. "Out of this World" is a bass solo, an elegy for Mel; "Born to Be Blue," a wistful remembrance. "Ornithology" breaks out with a playful chuckle, but the pensive, bittersweet mood returns; Leitham's arco bass intro to "Two for the Road" is like an exquisite, miniature portrait. From here on out it's a Thad Jones swinger, a Rodgers-Hart ballad, and a blistering blitz from Bernie.

It takes true artistry to make this much music, to convey this much emotion, with only two bare, exposed instruments. But that's what true artists do, and we are all the richer for it. I'm sure the spirits of Mel, Al, Bernard and Tommy are smiling.
"Dr. B" (J. Robert Bragonier), 52nd St. Jazz