Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » P. J. Perry Featuring Bill Mays: This Quiet Room

P. J. Perry Featuring Bill Mays: This Quiet Room

By Jack Bowers
November 8, 2019
View read count

In jazz, as in almost any other pursuit, there really is no stand-in for experience.

P. .J. Perry

" data-original-title="" title="">P. .J. Perry, now well into his seventh decade, has been a titan on Canada's saxophone scene for more than half a century, while California-born pianist

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Mays, three years Perry's junior and his able collaborator on the duo album This Quiet Room, has partnered with or accompanied a legion of jazz luminaries from north and south of the U.S.-Canadian border. Perry and Mays apply that expertise to admirable effect on a handsomely recorded assortment of charming songs from the Great American Songbook and elsewhere whose essential premise is that saxophone / piano sessions needn't be bland or sleep-inducing.

That point of view is borne out in the unconventional opener,

Bud Powell

piano
1924 - 1966

" data-original-title="" title="">Bud Powell's light-hearted "Parisian Thoroughfare," on which Perry and Mays show that bop-based chord changes and a lively tempo pose no problem whatsoever. Also, that soloing in that milieu is akin to second nature for both of them. Having proven the point, tempos modulate for the most part to even-tempered with two notable exceptions:

Charlie Parker

saxophone, alto
1920 - 1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Parker's lyrical "Laird Baird" and Brooks Bowman's well-traveled standard, "East of the Sun," each of which delivers some heat. Mays' solo piano is heard on the first half of the album's lone medley, which consists of Jerome Kern's "The Folks Who Live on the Hill" and

Henry Mancini

composer / conductor
1924 - 1994

" data-original-title="" title="">Henry Mancini's "Two for the Road."

The duo also survey Rodgers and Hart's "There's a Small Hotel" (played in waltz time), the venerable standard "Alice Blue Gown," Canadian

Bernie Senensky

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Bernie Senensky's quiescent ballad "In My Life" (vaguely reminiscent of Ennio Morricone's memorable theme from the film Cinema Paradiso) and Nelson Cavaquinho's seductive samba, "Beija Flor," before closing with

Michel Legrand

piano
1932 - 2019

" data-original-title="" title="">Michel Legrand's aptly named "This Quiet Room." Throughout, Perry and Mays complement each other impeccably while exemplifying a high level of awareness and musicianship. That is of course essential, as theirs are the only voices heard. As twosomes go, Perry and Mays set the bar high and make sure it never wavers.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Parisian Thoroughfare; In My Life; Laird Baird; Medley (The Folks Who Live on the Hill / Two for the Road); Alice Blue Gown; There��s a Small Hotel; Beija Flor; East of the Sun; This Quiet Room.

Personnel

P. .J. Perry

P.J. Perry: alto saxophone; Bill Mays: piano.

Album information

Title: This Quiet Room | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Cellar Music Group

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Hittin�� the Ramp: The Early Years ...
< Previous

Humans
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.