I heard the music first in a small Jazz Club in Germany. This CD will always be a memory of a fantastic concert.

i just found this cd accidently but after listening to the two tracks here i bought it and i am so happy with it. IT'S A GREAT MUSIC ... THANK YOU

This CD will relax, sooth and comfort your body and soul. Fine music and a performance that skillfully expresses the ambiance of bygone times. It's like being in the same room with the performers.

The last piano and sax duets I liked this much were by Jackie Byard and Roland Kirk. Duo recordings in jazz and blues can be many things, but most frequently they are sleepy, snorry, lazy, and self indulgent. None of these negatives apply to this new recording by Skinny Williams and Erwin Helfer. There is excitement, intensity, heated soul, smokey ruminations, and a relaxed, 3AM quality to the performances. The Playing has an intelligence and elegance that glows in the dark like a smoke ring; and hangs in the air like Man Ray's depiction of Lee Miller's lips. Skinny is a marvelous 'modern' tenor sax player, who reminds me of David "Fathead" Newman and Pee Wee Ellis. He has his own tone and voice; he clearly likes and knows blues and hard bop, while at the same time, his silvery tone and pull-up phrasing reveals knowledge of what used to be called "soul saxophone": like "Fathead" with Ray Charles, or Pee Wee with James Brown. Erwin, a hidden asset to Chicago's music scene, brings his vast knowledge of piano styles to the table on every tune, both as an accompanist and solist. When Skinny solos, Erwin not only plays behind him with agility and verve, he plays with a level of anticipation and intuition that almost amounts to mind reading. And not once does he ever impede Skinny's solos. In fact, he enhances every one. And when it is his turn to solo, rather than show off, he picks a simple theme or aspect of the tune and lays it out beautifully, giving it his own rhythmic take and always adding his unique blend of harmonization and personal voicings. And when it comes to interesting or unusual voicings, Mr. Helfer's take will always be unpredictable and nonpareil. The repertoire they cover is an extension of the great American Three B's tradition: blues, barrelhouse and boogie-woogie; to which they add standards, old pop tunes and a modern blues classic, Please Send Me Someone To Love. The recording quality, like all releases on The Sirens label, is top quality.