Without Deception (Dare2)
Kenny Barron / Dave Holland Trio featuring Johnathan Blake
Released March 2020
2020 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll Top 50Best New Album
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About:
Dare2 Records is thrilled to announce the [date] release of Without Deception, the intimate and adventurous debut recording by the Kenny Barron / Dave Holland Trio featuring Johnathan Blake. The album expands on the fruitful relationship forged by the two jazz icons over the course of more than three decades with the rejuvenating addition of the masterful young drummer.
Separated in age by only three years, the two leaders – both honored as NEA Jazz Masters – represent an impressive spectrum of jazz history between them. The Philadelphia-born pianist apprenticed with such giants as Dizzy Gillespie and Yusef Lateef before collaborating with the likes of Stan Getz, Ron Cater, Buster Williams and Regina Carter, earning nine Grammy Award nominations along the way. The British bassist came to prominence in groundbreaking groups led by such legends as Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Sam Rivers, Betty Carter, and Anthony Braxton—as well as collaborations with the likes of Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Jack DeJohnette and John McLaughlin.
While the pair crossed paths often throughout their early years, they finally enjoyed the opportunity to record together for the first time in 1985, on Barron’s exhilarating trio album Scratch. They reconvened in 2012 for a series of duo performances in Europe and the U.S. that culminated in the release of the acclaimed duo album The Art of Conversation, which JazzTimes praised for showcasing “the profound mastery of two artists who share an easy rapport and elegantly restrained expressiveness.”
Those facets are luminously on display throughout Without Deception, which deepens the empathetic communication via the presence of Blake, a fellow Philadelphia who has worked extensively with Barron in recent years. Drawn from a burly new piece contributed by Barron, the title of Without Deception captures the stark honesty and deceptive simplicity of the dialogue between Barron’s fleet, sensitive piano and Holland’s muscular yet nimble bass, gilded by Blake’s deft rhythmic touch. With the gentle profundity of close friends reprising a long-running conversation, the three exquisitely explore the nuances and possibilities to be discovered in ten aptly chosen tunes, combining originals by the co-leaders with classics by legendary figures Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington, the late, vaunted pianist Mulgrew Miller, and Barron protégé Sumi Tonooka. The results are at once captivating and celebratory, akin to eavesdropping as heartfelt revelations alternate with raucous, affectionate humor.
Track Listing:
1. Porto Alegri (Kenny Barron) 05:20
2. Second Thoughts (Mulgrew Miller) 05:51
3. Without Deception (Kenny Barron) 06:35
4. Until Then (Kenny Barron) 06:50
5. Speed Trap (Kenny Barron) 06:48
6. Secret Places (Sumi Tonooka) 06:58
7. Pass It On (Dave Holland) 06:01
8. Warm Valley (Duke Ellington) 07:39
9. I Remember When (Dave Holland) 08:27
10. Worry Later (Thelonious Monk) 05:03
Personnel:
Kenny Barron: piano
Dave Holland: bass
Johnathan Blake: drums
Recorded on August 17th – 18th, 2019, at Oktaven Audio
Producer: Dave Holland
Executive-Producer: Louise Holland
Recorded and Mixed by James Farber
Mastered by Greg Calbi
Photography by Ulli Gruber
Review:
The strong rapport between pianist Kenny Barron and bassist Dave Holland can be felt all the way through Without Deception. Much like their previous collaboration, 2014’s The Art of Conversation, the music they create is often quiet and subdued. But this understatement pulls the listener closer, into the vastness of Barron’s melodic vocabulary and the drive that Holland gently exerts behind him, before the bassist steps forward to take one of many well-placed solos. With musical chemistry like that, any extra elements might seem unnecessary. Drummer Johnathan Blake, however, fits right in with Barron and Holland. Although he plays a second-line groove on Holland’s “Pass It On” and emphasizes the bossa nova of Barron’s “Porto Alegre,” in many other cases Blake plays around with the beat rather than merely stating it, adding more heft to the music.
Barron contributes four originals to the set. The contoured theme of the title track flows like one alluring statement; “Speed Trap,” on the other hand, gives his partner the chance to walk almost freely. Holland’s other contribution, “I Remember When,” emphasizes the lyrical quality of his writing. The trio also finds opportunity and inspiration in works by Mulgrew Miller (“Second Thoughts”), Duke Ellington (“Warm Valley”), and Barron’s protégé Sumi Tonooka (“Secret Places”). Thelonious Monk’s “Worry Later” downplays some of the composer’s eccentricities during the theme, but Barron sprawls across the keys and bar lines during his solo to acknowledge the source. Albums like Without Deception make clear why Barron and Holland are regarded as masters. Even while keeping things calm in a straight-ahead trio setting, they still pack a punch.
Mike Shanley (JazzTimes)
