Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Joris Teepe & Don Braden: Conversations

Joris Teepe & Don Braden: Conversations

By Dan Bilawsky
May 15, 2017
View read count

In life we tend to make hard distinctions between the value of conversation and the worth of action, crystalizing such a dividing line with statements like "talk is cheap" and "actions speak louder than words." Jazz, however, has a way of relating the two. When musicians get together to play, the talk is the action. Every opportunity to play with others is a chance to open the lines of communication, and albums like this remind us that the deeper the rapport, the more expressive the dialogue.

Conversations is the culmination of a quarter century's worth of meaningful communication between bassist

Joris Teepe

bass, acoustic
b.1962

" data-original-title="" title="">Joris Teepe and saxophonist

Don Braden

saxophone, tenor
b.1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Don Braden. Since connecting in 1992, they've been sidemen together, toured the Old Country as a team on multiple occasions, worked for each other, and recorded as co-leaders. Their friendship and kinship is written in a collective sound, manifesting itself in entwined and aligned harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic gestures. When they get down to it, every thought's ending serves as a new beginning and every moment is a moment to be savored.

These ten songs frame the Teepe-Braden partnership in two different ways. Three numbers, recorded back in the winter of 2009, present this pair with no additional players in the mix; the remaining seven, recorded in the spring of 2016, find them working with one of two world-class drummers—

Gene Jackson

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Gene Jackson on three numbers and

Matt Wilson

drums
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Matt Wilson on four. All are gems, sitting well next to one another and never betraying the long space between sessions. It all sounds like it could've been recorded on the same day.

There are no "chording" instruments to be found here, but there's little to no absence of harmonic stability or implication in these performances. When you hear Braden, Teepe and Wilson swing away on "It's You Or No One," you don't miss a piano at all. The same can be said about the Jackson-enhanced group's sly trip through "Footprints" in five, a cool-headed "Our Love Is Here To Stay" with Braden's romanticized tenor working atop the locked-in Teepe-Wilson swing, and the open-eared trip through "Humpty Dumpty" that opens the album.

Teepe and Braden each have a deep understanding of the tradition, evident in their interplay, choice of repertoire, and technical showmanship. But neither man lets tradition get in the way of things. Hearing the evolution of Wilson's "Stolen Time," where a curious and pleasant pas de deux for flute and bass evolves into a frolicking journey with cymbals providing momentum, and observing the open-mindedness in solo stands and two-way exchanges, most evident on the duo's trip through Kurt Weill's "This Is New," makes that clear as day. Teepe and Braden bring new meaning to the idea of "talking a good game" with this album. It's a wonderful treat to be a fly on the wall during their conversations.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Hunpty; Three Card Molly; Goodbye Porkpie Hat; Eddieish; This Is New; Footprints; Stolen Time; It's You or No One; Our Love Is Here to Stay; We Take No Prisoners.

Personnel

Joris Teepe

bass, acoustic

Joris Teepe: bass; Don Braden: tenor saxophone, flute; Gene Jackson: drums; Matt Wilson: drums.

Album information

Title: Conversations | Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: Self Produced

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Rising Tide
< Previous

R��mur
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.