Bob Brookmeyer & Mads Vinding - Together (2021)

This duet CD shows the supportive bassist Vinding using his solid tones to underline the bright, clean, literate, tonally improvised lines of valve trombonist Brookmeyer. The result is a very pleasant experience that presents both musicians at their empathetic best. Brookmeyer also plays piano on three of the nine cuts, two of which he composed himself. Liner note writer Michael Stephans suggests the peaceful, relaxed "New Song" evokes the airiness of Satie and the warmth of Bill Evans. "Pretty Song" is a pure wedding anthem, while a take on the standard "Everything Happens to Me" moves effortlessly from pensive to slightly agitated and back. Brookmeyer loves to re-harmonize established melodies and circle them like a hawk without nailing the exact line. This is best demonstrated during the totally off-the-cuff "How Deep Is The Ocean" and "I Can't Get Started." Happy, wholesome, full bodied, fat, and crisp lines are perfectly stated by the two during the entire body of "Anything Goes." The pretty waltzing "Someday My Prince Will Come" and lightly swinging "Time on My Hands" with a hefty bass solo by Vinding, shows their romantic leanings. "Nobody Knows" is most bluesy and interactive using some unison, some counterpoint, and some trading of fours. Usually heard more frequently in much larger bands as an arranger, Brookmeyer proves quite a player, and the underrated Vinding should get just due as a premier European jazz bassist that America needs to pay more attention to. Recommended. ~ Michael G. Nastos