The Art of Conversation

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The Art of Conversation
The Art of Conversation- album cover.jpg
Studio album by
Dave Holland, Kenny Barron
ReleasedOctober 14, 2014
RecordedMarch 5, 2014
Studio Avatar, New York City
Genre Jazz
Length1:04:25
Label Impulse!
Producer Dave Holland, Kenny Barron, Karen Kennedy, Louise Holland
Dave Holland chronology
Prism
(2013)		The Art of Conversation
(2014)		 Aziza
(2016)
Kenny Barron chronology
Kenny Barron & the Brazilian Knights
(2012)		Night and the City
(2014)		 Book of Intuition
(2016)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Jazz Forum Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [2]
Jazzwise Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Tom Hull B+ [4]

The Art of Conversation is a studio album by English jazz bassist Dave Holland and American jazz pianist Kenny Barron. [5] [6] The record was released via the Impulse! Records label on October 14, 2014. [7] [8] [9] The album contains 10 compositions: a mix of jazz standards and original tunes. [10] The Jazz Journalists Association (JJA) recognized the record as the Record of the Year 2014. [11] Holland and Barron collaborated again in 2020, for their album Without Deception .

Contents

Reception

Fred Kaplan writing for Stereophile noted, "The duet may be the most challenging form of jazz. Both musicians are on, all the time; there's no place to coast or hide. In a sense, this can be liberating. Pianists, say, can switch from melody to harmony to extended improvisation without worrying about whether the sax or trumpet will get in the way. But they'd better have something interesting to say, or the experiment in freedom will soon turn lame. Ditto for bass players: they can run scales or arpeggios for a while, but if that's all they can do, they're exposed as one-dimensional. Pianist Kenny Barron and bassist Dave Holland have massive chops, and a lot to say, so their new duet album, The Art of Conversation (on the revived Impulse! label) is everything the title suggests". [12]

Shaun Brady of JazzTimes stated, "There are conversations meant solely for the ears of those involved, full of jocular camaraderie and inside references. And then there are those designed to be overheard, where the dialogue is meant to engage and enlighten anyone who is listening in as well as the speakers themselves. With a musical relationship dating back nearly three decades, pianist Kenny Barron and bassist Dave Holland could certainly engage in the former, but The Art of Conversation is a vivid example of the latter. These 10 tracks all showcase the profound mastery of two artists who share an easy rapport and elegantly restrained expressiveness". [13] E. E. Bradman of Bass Player commented "This perfectly titled set of conversations is a sumptuous addition to the great canon of bass-and-piano duets, of which the recently departed Charlie Haden was a master. Without drums, you can hear the strength, idiosyncrasy, and tone of Holland’s masterful support, improvisation, and style". [14]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Oracle"Dave Holland6:16
2."The Only One"Kenny Barron6:23
3."Rain"Kenny Barron7:34
4."Segment" Charlie Parker 5:59
5."Waltz for Wheeler" (Dedicated to Kenny Wheeler)Dave Holland6:12
6."In Walked Bud" Thelonious Monk 6:23
7."In Your Arms"Dave Holland6:44
8."Dr. Do Right"Dave Holland5:15
9."Seascape"Kenny Barron6:10
10."Day Dream" Duke Ellington / John La Touche / Billy Strayhorn 7:37
Total length:1:04:25

Personnel

Primary artists

Production

Chart performance

Chart (2014)Peak
position
France (SNEP) [15] 168
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [16] 189
Spain Albums Chart [17] 33

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References

  1. ↑ Collar, Matt. "Kenny Barron / Dave Holland: The Art of Conversation". allmusic.com . Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  2. ↑ Szachowski, Tomasz. "The Art Of Conversation: Kenny Barron Dave Holland| Jazz Forum". Jazz Forum . Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  3. ↑ Priestly, Brian (December 2014). "Review". Jazzwise . Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  4. ↑ "Tom Hull: Grade List: Kenny Barron". Tom Hull . Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  5. ↑ Kaplan, Fred (8 November 2014). "Kenny Barron & Dave Holland: The Art of Conversation". stereophile.com.
  6. ↑ JOHNSON, MARTIN (22 October 2014). "A Quiet 'Conversation': A long-awaited musical collaboration between two jazz artists, pianist Kenny Barron and bassist Dave Holland". The Wall Street Journal . wsj.com. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Kenny Barron / Dave Holland: The Art of Conversation". discogs.com . Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  8. ↑ Brady, Shaun (21 November 2014). "Kenny Barron/Dave Holland: The Art of Conversation, Impulse!". jazztimes.com . Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  9. ↑ Boeckstaens, Andy (12 October 2014). "CD REVIEW: Kenny Barron and Dave Holland - The Art of Conversation". londonjazznews.com. London Jazz News. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  10. ↑ Rozzi, James (11 May 2015). "The Art of Conversation (Impulse)". JAZZIZ Magazine. jazziz.com. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  11. ↑ Doble, Stephen (15 May 2015). "2015 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Award Winners Announced". The Jazz Line. thejazzline.com. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  12. ↑ Kaplan, Fred (8 November 2014). "Kenny Barron & Dave Holland: The Art of Conversation". stereophile.com.
  13. ↑ Brady, Shaun (21 November 2014). "Kenny Barron/Dave Holland: The Art of Conversation, Impulse!". jazztimes.com . Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  14. ↑ Bradman, E. E. (22 January 2015). "CD Review: Kenny Barron & Dave Holland "The Art of Conversation"". Bass Player . Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  15. ↑ "KENNY BARRON / DAVE HOLLAND - THE ART OF CONVERSATION (ALBUM)". lescharts.com. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  16. ↑ "KENNY BARRON / DAVE HOLLAND - THE ART OF CONVERSATION". ultratop.be. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  17. ↑ "KENNY BARRON / DAVE HOLLAND - THE ART OF CONVERSATION". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
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