Erroll Garner: Contrasts

Now in its 70th year of recorded history, the illustrious genre of acoustic jazz guitar duo playing here receives one of its finest tributes in many decades, as Bucky and John, father and son, unite once again to honor not only the giants who preceded them-Eddie Lang, Dick McDonough, Carl Kress, George Van Eps, and George Barnes-but also the synergy that results from the pairing together of two genetically linked fellow artists. Each a master of both acoustic and amplified instruments, single-string and chordal solo and accompanying styles, six- and seven-string models and tunings, and, not least of all, the entire legacy of their predecessors, Bucky and John offer in this release sixteen widely varied presentations, all the way from the classic Kress/McDonough “Stage Fright” of 1932, Jimmy Dorsey’s “Contrasts,” and Joe Mooney’s “Phantasmagoria,” to Al Cohn’s “Two Funky People” and a clutch of standards, some familiar and others possibly not. Among the many treats to be savored within are the notes by legendary studio guitarist Tony Mottola, whose professional insights and informed analyses will prove enlightening to all.