SLAMCD567 David Haney – Stix and Stones – Piano and Drum Duets

Pianist David Haney in a series of duets with some of his favourite drummers: Bernard Purdie, Han Bennink, Giovanni Barcello and Marvin “Bugalu” Smith. One of the most inventive pianists in USA, Haney probes the potentials and the challenges of the piano/drums duo.

“Stix and Stones represents a collection of duets from the past 10 years featuring a few of the drummers that I really love to work with. I’m always fascinated at the range of style and technique that drummers display. Playing the drums is not about holding down the beat, and it’s a huge pleasure to work with a variety of styles. When I work in duet with drummers I get so many ideas in terms of rhythm, dynamics, etc and that propels me to play harder and play more like a drummer than a pianist.” – David Haney

“The improvisations with Purdie are fairly revelatory, Haney always seeming to hint around the edges of recognisable songs (I heard a hint of Chapin, perhaps, and some Monkish allusions) while Pretty Purdie grooves hard, but with openness enough to suggest he’s perfectly at home in this context. Haney’s heart is really with the two Herbie Nichols tracks, though his style is his own. Bennington is deft in his brushwork on “Pretty Prancing Woman,” filling the tune with bright edges and rhythmic jitters that match what Haney’s up to. Bennink is well and truly reined in on “House Party Starting,” his accents just so and his swing peerless. Barcella is new to me, but he’s wonderfully texturally sensitive on Haney’s ruminative “Dolphy’s Hat,” which features some of the pianist’s most engaging playing on this date…It’s quite a range of material and things are fresh throughout, from the deliciously abstract funk on “6444” to the coiling “Opposites,” all the way to the rimshot groove of “Theme.” Vivid and creative, a fine record.” – Jason Bivins, Cadence

“No doubt, this is the only CD to feature drum legends Han Bennink and Bernard Purdy on the same disc…Haney often lets the drummers lead the dialogue, each one crafting their own rhythmic/melodic world. It almost sounds as if there is only one or two drummers involved since there is certain continuity going on here. Nothing here sounds totally free as each member of the duo pushed the flow in a certain direction. Mr. Haney is a most inventive pianist who appears to dip into various periods of jazz’s long history. A truly solid excursion!” – Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery

“Haney is very deft, so at times you may think you are hearing two pianos, but it’s never overpowering. He is adept at avoiding adornment and at creating balanced sculptures in sound which the drummer can fill as desired, as though they were blank areas of a canvas provided for the second artist to colour.” – Ken Cheetham, Jazz Views

“In this programme of piano and drum duets Haney proves himself to be one of the very few post-Cecil Taylor pianists on record, although the music’s success is dependent very much on the drummers he’s working with. Giovanni Barcella proves empathetic on Opposites, which only goes to show there’s nothing in a title, while Bernard Purdie perhaps surprisingly shows himself able to navigate in free waters on Six Four Four Four.” – Nic Jones, Jazz Journal

Mixed and mastered by Dennis Carter at Falcon Studios, Portland, Oregon

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