Charlie Haden & Kenny Barron
Night and the City,  Verve CD 314 539 961-2, 1998

 Night mood ballads

The nights were September 20-22, 1996, the city was New York, the club was Iridium, and the result was a wonderfully impressionistic live session by two of the most lyrical players around. Barron’s piano notes sparkle like city lights–sometimes bright shiny cascades and clusters, at other times shimmering colors that hang in the air. Haden creates shapes in the darkness, some lighter, some deeper, some warm, some troubling. The songs are aptly chosen: "Twilight Song," "Body And Soul," "You Don’t Know What Love Is," and so on, and the whole session unfolds like a slow cab ride or a romantic walk through the city streets. It’s been suggested that Haden and his wife Ruth selected only the romantic ballads from the two nights of recording, which results in a disk with more cohesion than most live releases. Highly recommended.– Pete Kelly