1980 · Album
Blues Alley Jazz
Recorded 1980, Blues Alley, Washington, D.C. (live) · Concord Jazz · Produced by Carl E. Jefferson
Two Voices in a Dim Room
Shearing and Torff trade lines in a Washington club, with nothing between them but the room.
Brian Torff's double bass is the thing that makes this record work. Shearing plays piano with his familiar block-chord sparkle, but the bass is not decoration here. Torff walks, answers, and sometimes pushes the time forward on his own, so the two instruments hold up the whole album between them. Listen to how he locks into the left hand and then steps away, and you hear a partner rather than an accompanist.
The album was recorded live at Blues Alley, the Georgetown club in Washington, D.C., and that setting shows in the looseness of the tempos and the easy talk between tunes. Shearing is in his element here, playing standards with the kind of crisp, bright touch that made his quintet famous, but the duo format strips away the vibraphone and horns, so every choice is exposed. The result is more intimate than his best-known work and less polished, which some listeners will find appealing.
AllMusic reviewer gave it four stars out of five, and that seems about right. This is not an essential Shearing record, and newcomers should start with The George Shearing Quintet recordings. But for anyone who already likes his playing and wants to hear him in a small room with a strong bassist, this one is a pleasant, well-played evening.
Who's playing
Brian Torffdouble bass
George Shearingpiano
