Alan Barnes - Ask Me Now (2017)

'Ask Me Now' is an outstanding collaboration on Woodville Records from two stalwarts of the British jazz scene, Alan Barnes on clarinet and alto, soprano and baritone saxophones and David Newton on piano. Newton is undoubtedly one of the finest solo jazz pianists the UK has ever produced and the prolific Barnes, perhaps needless to say, is highly accomplished across all reed instruments.

Throughout the album Barnes and Newton exhibit an empathy which only playing together for some forty years can bring, with the emphasis always on swinging, accessibility and interplay. At times both musicians manage to sound like a much bigger ensemble than a duo, with the saxophonist sounding particularly agile on the sometimes cumbersome baritone and the pianist both nimble and bluesy, as the occasion demands.

Recorded in July 2017, the programme of music features well-known standards together with hallowed pieces from pianist / composers Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Thelonious Monk and Hank Jones. The pair also contribute one original each, intriguingly both of these are bossa nova flavoured, Barnes' "The Sun, The Sea, The Stars and Me" and Newton's "Looking at You".

Personnel: Alan Barnes (clarinet, alto, soprano and baritone saxophones), David Newton (piano)