The other Dan Rose album released on the same day last year was ‘New Leaves’ which finds him duetting with pianist Claudine François (the cedilla is not included in the title for some strange reason – I even checked the label site). The two musicians first met in Paris more than 30 years ago, since when they have toured together and occasionally released material, the last being ‘Oasis’ in 2012. Here we have a collection of originals (although no collaborative compositions) along with some classics. Just seeing the name Thelonious Monk in a credit always makes me smile, although this is just piano and guitar which gives “Monk’s Dream” a quite different take and it is also quite a bit slower than the original with none of the angst and anger.

The key to this album is melody and harmony, coming together by two musicians who closely follow what the other is doing, each taking turns to provide the support and the result is yet another dreamy and mellow album which is both a strength and a negative, as there is just not enough in the way of contrast to make it engaging. It is a lovely album, full of elements of beauty, yet without enough dynamics the result is an album one is more likely to fall asleep to as opposed to sitting and listening avidly all the way through. I like my music to have more drive and passion and consequently this is not for me, although I recognise that those who enjoy this style will see much in this to enjoy.

Rating: 7/10

Links:
https://www.danrosemusic.com/
https://claudine.francois.free.fr/Eng/home.html
https://ridesymbol.com/