''Two by Four'', released in 1989 by the

EmArcy EmArcy Records is a jazz record label founded in 1954 by the American Mercury Records. The name is a phonetic spelling of "MRC", the initials for Mercury Record Company. During the 1950s and 1960s, musicians such as Max Roach, Clifford Brown ...

label, is a collection of duets by jazz acoustic bassist

Marc Johnson Marc Johnson may refer to: Musicians *Marc Johnson (musician) (born 1953), American jazz musician * Marc Johnson (rapper) (born 1979), Danish rapper known as Johnson *Marc Johnson, cello player with the Vermeer Quartet *Marc Johnson, member of the ...

. His duet partners include vibraphonist Gary Burton and harmonica virtuoso Toots Thielemans.

Review

This album is a series of duets lead by Marc Johnson, who served with distinction as the bassist in Bill Evans' last trio. Here ''Two By Four'' Harmonica player extraordinaire Toots Thielemans joins Johnson for a beautifully strutting take of "Killer Joe," afollowed by an amazingly soft and subtle take of "Spartacus Love Theme" by Alex North, a favorite of Evans that Johnson never got the opportunity to play with him. ''Two By Four'' song «Goodbye Porkpie Hat» is done with a very effectfull slow arrangement. Vibraphonist Gary Burton also appears on three tracks, opened by «Monk's Dream», and with a dreamy take of the melancholy «Gary's Theme» and gorgeous version of Evans' «Time Remembered». Pianist Makoto Ozone also appears on three duets, proving to be suitable choice as well, giving an inspired version of Johnsons rather challenging «Miss Teri», Ozone is also up to the rapid-fire, uptempo post-bop «One Finger Snap» by Herbie Hancock. Singer Lucy Crane is the widow of Fred Crane, an early teacher and mentor of Johnson, and probably not familiar to the jazz audience, as this was the major label debut. She provides spirited vocals on both «Beautyful Love» and «Ain't Misbehaven'». ''Two By Four'' was one of the best album releases in 1989.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Ken Dryden awarded the album 4½ stars stating "This series of duets featuring bassist Marc Johnson with different guests could be considered a tribute to Bill Evans, because it includes such a number of songs associated with the late pianist (though only one is an Evans composition)".

Track listing

#«Killer Joe» (4:40)
(B. Golson) #«Spartacus - Love Theme» (3:40)
(A. North) #«Dinner For One Please, James» (6:40)
(M. Carr) #«One Finger Snap» (4:17)
(H. Hancock) #«Miss Teri» (5:58)
(M. Johnson) #«Monk's Dream» (3:51)
(T. Monk) #«Gary's Theme» (6:39)
(G. McFarland) #«Beautyful Love» (3:16)
(H. Gillespie/V. Young/W. King/E.V. Alstyne) #«Ain't Misbehaven'» (2:57)
(F. Waller/Harry Brooks) #«Time Remembered» (5:24)
(B. Evans) #«Goodbye Porkpie Hat» (5:05)
(C. Mingus)

Personnel

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* Toots Thielemans –

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

(tracks: 1, 2 & 11) * Makoto Ozone – piano (tracks: 3, 4 & 5) * Gary Burton – vibraphone (tracks: 6, 7 & 10) *Lucy Crane – vocals (tracks: 8 & 9)

Notes

*April 17 & 18, 1989 at Cinton Recording Studio, New York

References

{{Authority control 1989 albums EmArcy Records albums Marc Johnson (musician) albums