Right at Home in Bloomington, MN

Saxophone/piano duets can be risky business. Because drums and bass are omitted, the musicians are more vulnerable and exposed; weaknesses and imperfections become more noticeable. But on the other hand, the sax/piano format can be rewarding if the players know what they're doing and have a strong rapport -- and that format works well on
Right at Home
, which finds tenor man
Fred Hess
teaming up with acoustic pianist
Marc Sabatella
. No drums or bass are employed on this CD -- just
Hess
' tenor and
Sabatella
's piano, and that proves to be a good thing because the jazzmen are very much in sync. The two of them enjoy a satisfying
post-bop
dialogue throughout the album, which was recorded in 2002 and is devoted to
' own compositions. No one will accuse
of going out of its way to be accessible; as a composer and a soloist,
tends to favor an angular, cerebral, mildly
avant-garde
style of
.
has an inside/outside outlook; the CD isn't as far to the left as a typical
Anthony Braxton
date, but
' pieces do draw on the more abstract writing of improvisers like
Steve Lacy
and
Joe Lovano
. And
is a perfect partner for
because he's such a broad-minded player.
has been influenced by a wide variety of pianists -- everyone from
Bill Evans
Dave Brubeck
to
Cecil Taylor
Thelonious Monk
-- and he can handle a wide variety of situations. So whatever
sends
's way, he knows how to respond and rises to the occasion. Albums as intellectual as
aren't for everyone, but those who have a taste for abstraction will find a lot to like about these
/
duets. ~ Alex Henderson