The grammy for the best album of the year went to Robert Plant and Allison Kraus - not exactly a musical couple that immediately springs to mind when you think of musical partners, but the product of their collaboration is magic: listen to "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On) - that's the producer T-Bone Burnett playing guitar on the video. As a result, Big Frank got to thinking about other unlikely pairs. One that he has been listening to a lot lately is Eddie Harris and John Scofield. Harris is probably best known as the saxophonist who first plugged in his sax! He is the funk master, and I guess when you think of him in this way it perhaps makes sense for him to play with Scofield - one of the trinity of GREAT jazz guitarist along with Pat Methany and Bill Frisell. Here's probably the best cut off that their CD "Hand Jive": I"ll Take Les. I defy anyone to listen to this and not bite their lower lip or bob their head. Big Frank has always been a big fan of Eddie Harris. His first Eddie Harris album, put out in 1970, and now only available in the used vinyl bins - is Come On Down. It was recorded in Miami; hence the big orange in place of Harris' head on the cover.
Other unusual but successful pairs? How about Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello - try a listen to "Painted From Memory". Then why not add Bill Frissel to the mix playing the above two's songs from that CD with Costello, Casandra Wilson and add Allison Krauss' brother Victor Krauss in "The Sweetest Punch". By the way, who else has ever taken someone else's album and recorded every song on it? But - that's a different question for a different time, isn't it? Let's not get distracted. And those previous combinations was getting a little incestuous, so how about something completely different: Chet Atkins and Mark Knopfler playing some great finger picking stuff (listen to "I'll See You In My Dreams") on "Neck and Neck". Listen to them play Lennon's Imagine on this youtube clip.
Other unusual but successful pairs? How about Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello - try a listen to "Painted From Memory". Then why not add Bill Frissel to the mix playing the above two's songs from that CD with Costello, Casandra Wilson and add Allison Krauss' brother Victor Krauss in "The Sweetest Punch". By the way, who else has ever taken someone else's album and recorded every song on it? But - that's a different question for a different time, isn't it? Let's not get distracted. And those previous combinations was getting a little incestuous, so how about something completely different: Chet Atkins and Mark Knopfler playing some great finger picking stuff (listen to "I'll See You In My Dreams") on "Neck and Neck". Listen to them play Lennon's Imagine on this youtube clip.
If anyone out there would like to suggest their own unusual partners - have at it.
2 comments:
How about Pavarotti and Sting on the Pavarotti and Friends CD? Bet you didn't think of them. (I didn't either. I got help from someone.) And being the reference librarian type, here is a link of interesting duets on YouTube. I never knew Mama Cass sang with Johnny Cash.
http://www.corfid.com/vbb/showthread.php?p=136162
Thanks for the additions! The link you include is super with all kinds of great unthought of duets. I think my favorite is Joe Cocker singing with Patti LaBelle while Billy Preston plays the piano after an introduction by Bill Cosby!?!
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