Ernst Reijseger & Franco D'Andrea - I Love You So Much It Hurts (2002)

The pairing of avant-garde cellist Ernst Reijseger with post-bop pianist Franco D'Andrea provides anything but predictable music. D'Andrea is unaccompanied for a boundary-stretching approach to Duke Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood." The leader begins Cole Porter's "Night and Day" alone, gradually working through variations on repeated arco riffs until the pianist makes a delayed, sparse entrance. D'Andrea's percolating Latin-flavored "Two Colors" is more accessible, though with a constantly twisting theme. D'Andrea's rather freewheeling "Afro Abstraction" shows that he is completely comfortable in a free jazz setting, with Reijseger playing soft accompaniment and a bit of percussion on his instrument. Dutch pianist Misha Mengelberg contributed the quirky "Complex Eight," a humorous piece that defies the expected paths. Recommended.