In Memoriam

Tony and I had performed improvisatory concert music together before, but only played four-hands jazz informally. My wife Patrice encouraged us to record a CD of two-piano jazz, so when I happened to be performing in New York while Tony was visiting, the idea of doing a CD together came up again. I paid a quick visit to my jazz publisher, MJQ Music, and asked managing editor Paul Schwartz if he had anything for two pianos. He set me free to browse in the piano files and we soon unearthed two previously unrecorded concert jazz pieces, a wonderful suite by the great French pianist and composer Martial Solal and a two-piano version of John Lewis’s In Memoriam, which he had previously recorded with his Modern Jazz Quartet. Suddenly we had our focus and Paul granted us exclusive rights to the first recordings. The rest fell into place rather quickly.

Rehearsing and recording with Tony was an extraordinary experience for me, and one of the most joyful times in my musical life. We had great fun exploring these pieces, and the symbiotic serendipity of playing off each other’s ideas took us both, I think, to places we hadn’t been before. We hope the high spirits that went into making this album will be evident to you, the listener. Enjoy!

This recording came about through a long friendship between David and myself, and through David’s marvellous discovery in New York of two significant works for two pianos, previously unrecorded. They are both unusual and written in quite idiosyncratic musical language by two wonderful pianist-composers. Thus they are very different in content and form. The common factor is that they both allow for improvisation, which of course is the lifeblood of many musics and musicians around the world.

There is an analogy between the contrasting nature of the two works and our playing styles, which in their own way bring an uncommon if not unique character to the performances. Ultimately, the success of all good music-making lies in a common sense of purpose, the ability to listen, respect for the music, and the sense of adventure so crucial to the spirit of improvisation.

It was for both of us a total joy to make the premiere recording of the two major pieces, along with the other shorter works, among them a couple of originals, some played as solos, others on two pianos, and a few familiar works by other composers. It is worth noting that outside the strictly written sections of the Solal and Lewis pieces all the playing was approached in a totally spontaneous way. It is a magical process. We hope that those who listen to this recording will experience some of the sensation which comes with this kind of music-making.