Search - Dick Hyman, Ralph Sutton :: Just You, Just Me

Wonderful Stride Duets

B. D. Tutt | London, UK. | 10/13/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Piano duets can be an acquired taste. They can sound heavy and cluttered, or overcautious as the performers try not to get into each others' way. This is a particular problem for stride piano duets. However, none of this applies to this disc. Dick Hyman and Ralph Sutton are the finest living stride pianists, and this 1996 live recording of them in duo is a delight from start to finish. The tracks are, for the most part, well worn standards, but they are given invigorating readings. Probably the highlight is the wonderful performance of Walter Donaldson's "Changes", but "After You've Gone" comes a close second. Hyman takes "Out of Nowhere" as a solo, with Sutton contributing "Echoes of Spring / Passionette". For fans of Hyman and Sutton this disc is self-recommending. For other lovers of jazz piano, this is an enormously enjoyable disc."