Shades Of Light

Trombonist Conrad Herwig and pianist Andy LaVerne picked some beautiful, modern tunes for this duo session. In addition to music by McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, Joe Henderson, John Coltrane, Hubert Laws, and George Cables, they tangle with Brubeck's "In Your Own Sweet Way," Ellington's "African Flower," and Jobim's "If You Never Come to Me." (Corea's "Crystal Silence," famously played by its author and Gary Burton as a piano/vibes duet, is a particularly good choice.) Few besides Herwig can get the ungainly trombone to sing and turn corners like this; his rapport with LaVerne, one of Steeplechase's most sophisticated and prolific artists, is often breathtaking. This record came out around the same time as Wycliffe Gordon and Eric Reed's We, and makes for an interesting comparison. ~ David R. Adler, Rovi