Bassist Jeff Denson, Between Two Worlds
Jeff Denson’s Between Two Worlds places the acclaimed bassist/composer in brilliant, like-minded creative company that spans the globe
Denson’s trio recording features a collaboration with French guitarist Romain Pilon and celebrated U.S. drummer Brian Blade, available October 25,
Internationally renowned bassist and composer Jeff Denson had long been a fan of Brian Blade when he got the call in 2017 to tour with Joel Harrison’s Spirit House quintet, which featured Blade on drums. “I said, ‘YES! Absolutely, without question. I’ll do back flips if you want,’” Denson says.
“Jeff and I could communicate like that right away, [as musicians] and as people too,” adds Blade of their bandstand meeting. “The kind of relationship where you don’t have to say too much, or to explain.”
Their chemistry was so strong that Denson decided to bring Blade into another partnership he’d developed, with Paris-based guitarist Romain Pilon. Between Two Worlds,
“I first met Romain at Berklee College of Music, 20 years ago this fall, and after reconnecting a couple of times over the years, once in New York and again for a tour in California, we decided to do a project together,” Denson says. “He’s a bad dude. A virtuoso player, but very sensitive and very musical—the same exact words I would use to describe Brian. It just seemed like a perfect fit.”
Between Two Worlds features ten original compositions: five each by Denson and Pilon, most of them written especially for this album.
The music’s sound is consistent across the album: complex but highly expressive post-bop, guitar-trio jazz. Yet for the most part, it’s apparent at a glance which composer wrote which tune. Pilon’s titles are in French (“Sucrée,” “En Trois Temps,” “Azur,” “Génération”); “Madrid,” whose language is neither of the above, is also by Pilon. “Song of a Solitary Crow,” “Nostalgic Farewell,” “Listen Up,” “Lost and Found” and “Between Two Worlds” are Denson’s.
The album’s title has poetic dimensions. “As musicians we float between two worlds,” writes Denson in the album’s liner notes. “One, a physical plane and the other a powerful reality that can only be found with the most open of ears, hearts and minds.”
Part of that intuitive reality is the chemistry between the three musicians, which all of them agreed was strong. “Romain is inspiring, his playing and compositions,” Blade says. “And Jeff as well. Who they are comes through in the music, and the joy.”
“Playing music with Jeff and Brian was like discovering new paths to creativity,” Pilon adds. “I felt like everything was possible. I just had to keep my ears open.”
“It’s one thing to make everything work and have everybody sound good, but there’s
For more on Jeff Denson’s Between Two Worlds, Visit online at www.jeffdenson.com
