Jane Bunnett & Don Pullen - ‘New York Duets’

Jane Bunnett has been a fixture of the Toronto music scene for over three decades, as a distinguished soprano saxophonist and flutist. Her work with Cuban jazz with her groups Spirits of Havana and Maqueque have garnered her critical acclaim and several Grammy nominations, amongst other honours. However back in 1989 Bunnett was an up and coming musician with just one recording under her belt, 1988’s ‘In Dew Time’ featuring both legendary saxophonist Dewey Redman and the great Don Pullen on piano (For more on Mr. Pullen check out this great blog post from Ethan Iverson). She then travelled to New York to study and apprentice with Pullen where she would record ‘New York Duets’ in 1989.

The album is an exciting mix of swinging duo playing and avant garde freedom. The pair seemingly drift between styles and moods in hypnotic sync with one another as if each musician were following the exact impulses of the other. Pullen, a veteran of the legendary final Charles Mingus Quintet, was already well established as a pianist who could seamlessly bridge standard swinging jazz repertoire with the more adventurous free jazz leanings of his earlier influences Eric Dolphy and Ornette Coleman. The two musicians, despite differences in age, origin, and experience, work together in scintillating harmony creating a captivating yet challenging musical experience.

If you enjoy comparing recordings here is a video of Jane playing Bye-Ya with a different group live in Toronto twenty two years after 'New York Duets' was recorded:

For some great anecdotes and old school Toronto lore check out photographer Rick McGinnis' blog post about Don Pullen here.