This hushed duo set sounds like the epilogue to Jasmine, the collection of reflections on Broadway classics and ballads that Jarrett and double-bassist Haden made four years ago. Casually overheard, these exchanges can sound like superior lounge-jazz in their soft bass-walks, demurely stroked chords and piano improvisations; lean a little closer, however, and Jarrett's timing and sense of space, plus Haden's spontaneous countermelodies, continue to provide low-lit delights.
Bud Powell's fast bopper Dance of the Infidels is a rare uptempo sprint, and Monk's Round Midnight represents this pair at their most impish, with Jarrett at his freely lyrical best. As with Jasmine, there are plenty of rapturous love songs (It Might As Well Be Spring, Everything Happens to Me, Every Time We Say Goodbye among them) but for all their warm glow, this duo constantly invests them with strength and urgency. It's just as good as Jasmine, and hopefully not a Last Dance for this partnership.
