Kevin Hays & Jorge Rossy – “The Wait”

Award-winning pianist, composer, singer, and songwriter Kevin Hays and drummer and vibraphonist Jorge Rossy have teamed up for an exciting duo album called “The Wait”. The list of artists with whom both of them have worked with over the last couple of decades reads like a who’s who of the jazz world. We’ve reviewed Kevin’s album “New Day” from 2015 on these pages and also shared a few notes about his gig at New York’s Kitano in 2017. “The Wait” just came out on the Swiss-based Clap Your Hands label and was produced by Swiss saxophonist Sarah Chaksad and Patrick Zosso. They open this highly entertaining set with a Toninho Horta composition: on “De Ton Pra Tom”, both Kevin and Jorge set the stage for an endlessly melodic, distinctive style reminiscent of the classic Gary Burton/Chick Corea ECM work. The encompassing and profound soundscape here is incredibly beautiful. Their mutual rapport on pieces like the Jorge-penned “Moose Love” is simply awe-inspiring.

Kevin Hays Jorge Rossy "The Wait"

There is this air of an almost chamber-like notion surrounding the track “El Bardo” (also by Jorge) where both actually flow over their respective instruments. It’s a fascinating piece. Both of them wrote “Awareness”, a track a little bit more on the darker or introspective side here. And what they’ve done to Thelonious Monk’s “Misterioso”, is really amazing. The motif is on repeat, like a loop, slower than the original, only adding to the spookiness of the composition. This is probably the most interesting version of this Monk tune I’ve ever heard. And the magic continues on the very conversational “Row Row Row”. It’s as if both artists are telling a story, complete with comments and confirmations. It is a deliciously rare, ethereal piece which floats towards an almost gleeful expansiveness. There is so much to explore here, like the bubbling and bouncy “Tears”. Both consistently inspire each other on one of the album’s highlight, Leonard Bernstein’s “Somewhere”. It gets a very graceful reading, almost pointillistic, and with a wonderful articulation.

The last three tracks include two of Kevin’s compositions and show his dexterity and versatility as a composer: there is a certain joyful immediacy on the title track which also includes vocals. The album closer, “Song For Peace”, is yet another very emotive beauty with poignant lyrical statements by both musicians. And then they show their love and respect once again for Brazilian music: “Travessia”, certainly the most beautiful song ever written by Milton Nascimento, excels with elegant lines and an attractive, bittersweet subject matter.
Kevin and Jorge are on a short tour through Europe. Don’t miss them:

1/21 Dorking – Watermill Jazz
1/22 London – Soul Mama
1/23 Amsterdam – Bimhuis
1/24 Brussels – Jazz Station
1/25 Paris – Sunset/Sunside
1/26 Cologne – Stadtgarten
1/28 Graz – Stockwerk Jazz
1/29 Vienna – Porgy & Bess

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