Ron Carter and Richard Galliano decided to risk intercontinental collaboration for the second time after 1990, when they recorded their acclaimed album "Panamanhattan" in Paris. Here the French accordion master, whose fingers fly over the keyboard with acrobatic ease and can make the instrument weep in melancholy or rejoice with joy. There the American bass wonder, whose deeply tuned strings enhance more than 2,500 (!) recordings and are among the cornerstones of the complete artistic works of Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy, Archie Shepp, Herbie Hancock, Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Two who have already gained hero status in their own worlds and can actually only lose when they transgress into each other's terrain. "Believe me, there is nothing more real than to go on stage with a gambler," Carter raved about the refreshed liaison with his Gallic buddy. The two rediscovered the once lost central thread in March 2016 at Jazz Week in Burghausen as a short intermezzo during a joint appearance with the WDR Big Band. The provisional climax was then the recording made in Theaterstu?bchen in Kassel on October 29. Galliano recalled: "Before we got going, I said to him: "Can you believe it? Twenty- seven years have passed, we are still the same and I'm still playing the same accordion. To which Ron just responded: "And we have still same fingers!" With these 20 nimble tools, the two protagonists of the musical joint venture interact without fear of contact. Neither remains in his accustomed position. Like two intrepid mountaineers, they balance over a yawning abyss, perform daring maneuvers and clear the way for each other time and again. The longer the intimate wanderings of subtle nuances and sensitive, dancing elegance last, the greater the familiarity seems to be. "Richard really seizes every rhythmic and harmonic chance," the American marveled about his French partner. And he replies gallantly: "Ron still looks so young, fresh and elegant like three decades ago. And he is still enthusiastic, straightforward and comes straight to the point." An often thoughtlessly used image rarely fits better than on this very special evening: Ron Carter and Richard Galliano create a universal musical language, whose vocabulary consists of notes. Risk-free enjoyment.
