Two Pianos Jamming at the Jazz Bakery

Jazz pianist Bill Mays (from his online press kit)

At the beginning of this month, I learned through Jazz Promo Services of the release of a 1991 recording of improvised jazz on two pianos. The two pianists were Bill Mays and Mike Wofford, both of whom have extensive discographies as both leaders and sidemen. Mays created a Web page on his Web site on which he accounted how this recording came to be as follows:

Some 30 years ago Mike and I found ourselves seated at two grand pianos at the Jazz Bakery in L.A. and, although we’d both forgotten it, the one-nighter was recorded. Through a fluke I recently came upon the DAT recording and thankfully it was still viable. The music was transferred to digital format and we were happy enough with the musical results that we’ve decided you might enjoy it as well.

The result consists of eight tracks, two of which are “medley” tracks conjoining two tunes by the same composer(s). The first of these honors the combined efforts of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn with a “synthesis” of “Black Beauty” and “Chelsea Bridge.” The final track, in turn, pairs two Charlie Parker favorites, “Cheryl” and “Relaxin’ at Camarillo.” The album opens with a Thelonious Monk track, “Monk’s Mood;” and there are also more traditional standards, such as George Gershwin’s “How About You?” and Richard Whiting’s “Too Marvelous for Words.” There is also a track of a Wofford original, “Melissa.”

Given the spontaneity of the occasion, what is most important about this collection is the sheer breadth of inventive devices conjured up by the performers. Presumably, much of that invention came from the playful efforts of each of them to outdo the other. My only regret is that I lack the ability to sort out who is playing what, particularly when at least one of them was working from the inside of the instrument as well as the keyboard. On the other hand that sorting might spoil some of the fun of it all, since it is the smooth integration of multiple perspectives that makes the listening experience so engaging.

As of this writing Mays himself is distributing the album through his Web site. That aforementioned Web page includes a player for listening to individual tracks, which also has hyperlinks for downloading both single tracks and the entire album. This amounts to a gift to Mays’ fans, since there is no charge for either listening or downloading.