Tuck & Patti: Chocolate Moment

No jazz artists are more poetically adept at wearing their hearts on their sleeves than those perennially popular troubadours of positive thinking, Tuck & Patti. With Chocolate Moment, the pair’s first release on their own T&P label, guitarist Tuck Andress and singer-songwriter-producer Patti Cathcart celebrate the 25th anniversary of their personal and professional union by delivering their most efficaciously uplifting session to date. There’s a distinct post-9/11 feel to Chocolate Moment, with almost all of the tracks trumpeting the same tripartite message: know thyself, love thyself, heal thyself. (The sole exception is Andress’ sweet instrumental valentine to his life partner, “Interlude in the Key of P.”) Typical of Tuck & Patti, all nine of the other life-affirming selections are potent combinations of polished aptitude and poetic integrity. Particularly praiseworthy are the lilting “One for All,” a wishful nod to the heightened humanity of days gone by, and the magically tender “Knowing,” which comes dressed as a sage medieval canticle. Then there’s the bouncy, jubilant “Rejoice,” a Caribbean-influenced paean to personal growth that easily qualifies as one of the most passionately empathetic survival anthems ever penned.

Originally Published November 1, 2002