Cornet and piano? That's all? What's that about? Would that work in jazz? You bet it does, although it must be admitted that the combination is a bit unusual, and makes enormous demands on the musicians. As Martha and the Vandellas once put it, there's "Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide." For these duets to hold up, the level of invention - of musicianship - must be extraordinary. In fact there is a rather distinguished history of such duets, going back to 78s by King Oliver and Jelly Roll Morton (that I've not heard) and Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines' famous collaboration on "Weatherbird." In the '50s John Hammond produced a series of sessions in which pianist Ellis Larkins and cornetist Ruby Braff played standards. These duets caused something of a stir at the time and were very favorably reviewed. But, for years, unless you had the original Vanguard 10" records, there was no way to hear this music. Happily, much of this material is now available on CD, and it stands up well. But a lot has gone on in half a century (!) and there is a richer history against which improvisation can be heard today. In the 50's, bop was still relatively new, and the work of great jazz composers such as Monk and Mingus had not made its way into the jazz "songbook." There is today more opportunity - and more danger - in this exceptionally exposed format. But along with the danger, the exposure, there is much to be gained for both musician and listener. The musicians have a chance to practice their craft without a net, as it were, and the listener has an opportunity to see or hear with exceptional clarity just what is going on as the musicians think the tunes through. But make no mistake, this format takes an exceptional level of playing skill, and intellectual acuity.

"Rosenthal is a pianist of rarest skill, weaving rapid single note lines that span out into rich chordal patterns, parallel octaves and hints of the blues." Leonard Feather, The Los Angeles Times

There is a modern equivalent of the Braff-Larkins duets in which one of our guests on the 11th, Warren Vaché, plays. It's called 2Gether (Nagel-Heyer 2011) and features duets by Bill Charlap (Jazz Nights 1 and 4) and Mr. Vaché. The disc is masterly, and shows how in the hands of exceptional musicians, the 50 years of development since the Larkins-Braff duets can enrich the music.

Ted Rosenthal and Warren Vaché have not, I think, recorded together (yet - I certainly hope they will), but they have played together often. I was lucky enough to catch them at Shanghai last November and immediately knew they'd be perfect for Jazz Nights. Happily, here they come in about a month. It was an evening of standards; every tune came from the "Great American Songbook" (well I guess you have to include Brazil as the 52nd state, for that to be literally true, as there was one Jobim tune), but Monk was there also in long quotes that essentially took over the whole song. The interaction between the two musicians was intense, and the music wonderful.

"The writing and playing exude a confidence that guarantees he can execute any lick he writes or hears-and it will swing." Harvey Siders, Jazz Times, Feb. 2004

"It's no surprise, either, that these two gentlemen are so great, as they are both most distinguished artists. Mr. Rosenthal won the second Monk competition in 1988, for example. He now has nine CDs out on his own, and is a remarkably sensitive and, at the same time vigorous pianist. His playing, and presumably writing and teaching, is influenced by his love of classical music, but he swings like mad, and knows the jazz canon very well. Here are some CDs I recommend. There are several others, but these catch the spirit of what Jazz Nights 9 is likely to be.

1. One Night in Vermont: Planet Arts, PLONV: Duets with valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer.

2. The 3 B's: Playscape PSR#J080199. Solo piano. The three B's are Bud Powell, Bill Evans and Ludwig van B. I especially like the Bud tunes - Tempus Fugit, Wail, Parisian Thoroughfare, and I'll Keep Loving You.

3. Live at Maybeck Hall, Vol 38, Concord 4648: Here is Richard Palmer's take on this one: "One of the best (Maybeck's) I've heard. A pianist of rare insight and personality. I am particularly taken with his lovingly historical grasp of jazz piano's panoply. A super CD." -- Richard Palmer, Jazz Journal

Mr. Vaché can do anything - anything, it seems - on his horn(s). He reminds me a bit of Rex Stewart, a trumpet player who never played a bad note in his life, or even of another Ellingtonian, trombonist Tricky Sam Nanton. Like Tricky Sam, Mr. Vaché loves mutes. He likes to growl and he gets music from a cornet that may not exactly have been envisioned by its inventor! He combines the musicianship of Braff with a more modern outlook on the music. His most recent CD, the excellent "Dream Dancing," includes Bird's remake of "Embraceable You," "Quasimodo," for example. Here is a sample of Vaché CDs that I like a lot:

"Vaché ...abstracted familiar melodies with such relaxed invention that his improvisations sounded like great songs in themselves." Francis Davis, The Philadelphia Enquirer

1. 2Gether, Nagel-Heyer, 2011. Duets with Bill Charlap. Great CD.

2. Dream Dancing, Arbors, 19289. his most recent CD with Charlap, Dennis Irwin (b), Eddie Locke (d), and Harry Allen (tsax).

3. Iridescence, Concord, CJ 4153. It's ancient, but with Hank Jones on piano, George Duvivier on base and Alan Dawson on drums it is hard to go wrong.