Saxophone/piano duets can be risky business. Because drums and bass are omitted, the musicians are more vulnerable and exposed; weaknesses and imperfections become more noticeable. But on the other hand, the sax/piano format can be rewarding if the players know what they're doing and have a strong rapport -- and that format works well on
Right at Home, which finds tenor man
Fred Hess teaming up with acoustic pianist
Marc Sabatella. No drums or bass are employed on this CD -- just
Hess' tenor and
Sabatella's piano, and that proves to be a good thing because the jazzmen are very much in sync. The two of them enjoy a satisfying post-bop dialogue throughout the album, which was recorded in 2002 and is devoted to
Hess' own compositions. No one will accuse
Right at Home of going out of its way to be accessible; as a composer and a soloist,
Hess tends to favor an angular, cerebral, mildly avant-garde style of post-bop.
Right at Home has an inside/outside outlook; the CD isn't as far to the left as a typical
Anthony Braxton date, but
Hess' pieces do draw on the more abstract writing of improvisers like
Steve Lacy and
Joe Lovano. And
Sabatella is a perfect partner for
Hess because he's such a broad-minded player.
Sabatella has been influenced by a wide variety of pianists -- everyone from
Bill Evans and
Dave Brubeck to
Cecil Taylor and
Thelonious Monk -- and he can handle a wide variety of situations. So whatever
Hess sends
Sabatella's way, he knows how to respond and rises to the occasion. Albums as intellectual as
Right at Home aren't for everyone, but those who have a taste for abstraction will find a lot to like about these
Hess/
Sabatella duets.