Barney Wilen & Alain Jean-Marie Montreal Duets 180g LP

Barney Wilen’s preferred piano partner for much of his later career was the Martinique-born Alain Jean-Marie. He appears on both La Note Bleue and Wild Dogs of the Ruwenzori, but the duo’s Montréal appearance in 1993 is a nice way to study theirchemistry at some length. This live recording includes previously unissued tracks from the July 4, 1993 International De Jazz De Montreal, Church of the Cesu. 180-gram vinyl, includes special essays by famed Jazz writers Pascal Anquetil and Brian Morton.

“The alchemy of a duo cannot be decreed. It can be verified by the heat of this exchange. The Montreal concert is living proof. With these two musicians, jazz is not a matter of tempo or repertoire, of structures or the number of notes played in each bar. It is above all a matter of breathing, of the punctuation of each phrase, of the courtesy toward silence, a matter of music itself.” – Pascal Anquetil, Jazz Magazine (December 2019)

“Wilen’s preferred piano partner, for much of his later career, was the Martinique-born Alain Jean-Marie. He appears on both La Note Bleue and Wild Dogs Of The Ruwenzori, but the duo’s Montreal appearance in 1993 is a nice way to study their chemistry at some length.” – Brian Morton, Penguin Guide to Jazz (December 2019)