This brings together a dozen tracks originally issued on three different long players in 1956: Two By Two: Music of Rodgers and Hart, and volumes one and two of Two part Inventions in Jazz.
Braff's cornet is excellently recorded; every nuance in his playing, from bright to reflective, is audible. Larkins' piano style is a full keyboard stride that, like
Braff's cornet work, hearkens back to earlier players like
Fats Waller,
Teddy Wilson,
Earl Hines, James P. Johnson,
Mel Powell, and Jess Stacey. The pairing of these two makes for some of the best jazz in the duo format that you're likely to run across. Strong versions of "Where or When," "In a Mountain Greenery," "Love for Sale," "Blue Moon," and "I Married an Angel" make this one a must-have for the collection. ~ Cub Koda