Aki Takase - St. Louis Blues (CD)

“Nothing new about Jazz? Maybe, that there will never be again an avant-garde in the militaric sense of pioneers, which the footman follow in a certain distance. But the big individualists, who in a personal union of creator and interpreter always determined the aura of Jazz like in no other music genre, are still there. And if they play in top form, what isn't always possible, they are irresistible and unique. Aki Takase for example, who always can produce her bizarre humour at it' s best, when she chooses brilliant Duo- partners and rubs herself at the utmost popular themes of others. This is what she does now with themes of the componist of many blues-classics, W.C.Handy. With Rudi Mahall Aki Takase has an old friendship of ' happy resonance vibrations', which resulted 1998 in the masterpiece ' Duet for Eric Dolphy'. Dolphy gave in the beginning of the 60's the bass clarinet as a new courted instrument a new home in the Jazz. But Intonation and common playing are difficult, and in