The Saturday Morning Listen
I was thinking of the bustling role of Phil Markowitz in Saxophone Summit when wracking my brains earlier before settling down to listen to this latest from the pianist here in duo with vibraphonist Joe Locke. Smoke and Mirrors couldn’t be more different: no full on sax playing, a different kind of language and a representation of their work together down the years distilled to its compositional essence. One major plus factor is another nod to Markowitz’ past and in ‘Sno’ Peas’ a tune of his that has been covered by Kind of Blue and Sunday at the Village Vanguard pianist Bill Evans.
Smoke and Mirrors is a live recording documenting a performance made at a university in Pennsylvania. The pair go way back. Brooklyn born Markowitz, now 73, taught a then teenage Locke who is 7 years younger than the pianist. Taking the lead also on the album is a new version of the Present Tense Locke piece ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ that digging in the discography was recorded in 1989 on a Locke album that included Kenny Werner on piano among the personnel.
The present pair recorded together before for instance in the 1980s on an album called ‘Live’ In Front Of The Silver Screen that also featured Eddie Gomez and drummer Keith Copeland (a drummer who was later influential on a new generation of Northern Irish jazz drummers). At the time something that Markowitz said referred to in the notes still applies:
“To have another comper gives me more freedom. And as an arranger and composer, vibes-and-piano lends itself to orchestration techniques.”
Too true. So all in all sumptuousness beyond superfluity, absorbing music making skilfully conveyed.
It’s another album to add to a lineage of top piano and vibes albums that include Gary Burton & Chick Corea’s 1970s classic Crystal Silence and McCoy Tyner & Bobby Hutcherson’s beautiful Manhattan Moods from the 1990s.
