When you get to the point in your career that drummer
Max Roach and trumpeter
Clark Terry are, it's not so much what you say, but how you say it. These jazz giants may not be at the top of their game technically, but artistically no Young Lion can touch them. Starting with the leadoff track on
Friendship, it's clear that all bets are off. "Statements" is a drum and trumpet duet loosely based around a blues theme, with
Terry playing off various rhythms and drum head detunings from
Roach. It's easily one of the most avant-garde things these guys have played in a while, and possibly the most surprising thing you'll hear on a straight-ahead jazz recording from 2002. Elsewhere,
Terry takes a burnished and juicy stroll through "When I Fall in Love,"
Roach gets some solo time on the furious "Lil Max," and both of them turn "Makin' Whoopee" into a bittersweet daydream. Backed sensitively by pianist
Don Friedman and bassist
Marcus McLaurine,
Roach and
Terry make
Friendship a pure joy. ~ Matt Collar