Legendary bassist Ron Carter is no stranger to duets with guitarists, having recorded a series of them over the years with jazz great Jim Hall, among others. For this Duets album, he teams with rising six string star Yotam Silberstein. As with so much of the great bassist’s work, this album isn’t a project – it’s a conversation. Each player speaks his peace, welcomes the response, and reacts accordingly. Check out the lovely take on Victor Young’s “Love Letters,” the funky bump brought to the Irving Berlin tune “They Say It’s Wonderful,” or the swinging zip through the thirties-era standard “The Lamp is Low.” Silberstein certainly has a way with a ballad – check out his sparking acoustic work on Vernon Duke’s “What is There to Say,” or his melodic chording on his own “Rain Again.” Carter, of course, is the most dependable bassist alive – whether he’s holding down the bottom with a tasty groove, or soloing with the all the melody of a harmonic instrument, he’s the fulcrum of every song. The duo comes together most intimately on “Blues For Brother Randolph,” a Silberstein-penned tribute to the late guitarist Russell Malone, who was a long-running collaborator with Carter and an influence on Silberstein’s generation of jazz axepeople. Johnny Griffin’s “Mil Dew” closes things out with busy picking and thrumming with a sense of true joy in collaboration. If this is the kind of conversation to be had when Carter and Silberstein sit down together, here’s hoping they talk again soon.
