(Vocal Jazz, Traditional Pop, Standards) Allan Harris & Takana Miyamoto - Convergence - 2012, WEB, FLAC (tracks), lossless

The eternal bond between piano and voice in jazz was cemented long before pianist Bill Evans and vocalist Tony Bennett ever took to the studio together, but they elevated this union of sounds to artistic heights ne'er before attained. Bennett and Evans erased the notions of vocals on top and pianist-as-mere-accompanist with The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album (Fantasy, 1975) and its less glorified follow-up, Together Again (Improv, 1977). They created a synergy in song craft that few before or since have come close to matching. What's even more remarkable, is how stylistically mismatched they technically were. Bennett the extrovert and Evans the introvert don't make for a good match on paper, but on tape they were mesmerizing.
Likewise, vocalist Allan Harris and pianist Takana Miyamoto don't initially come to mind as the perfect candidates to honor the musical collaboration(s) between Bennett and Evans. Harris' warm, brandied baritone brings to mind Nat King Cole rather than Bennett and Miyamoto has a more firm sense of pianistic placement than Evans. But that's beside the point. This pair isn't trying to recreate anything and, instead, look to honor what Evans and Bennett had with their own takes on some of the same material. What they do have in common with that classic coupling is a whole-is-greater-than- the-sum-of-its-parts connection, which makes this album so powerful.
Harris has had plenty of experience working with top-flight pianists, like Bill Charlap, Tommy Flanagan and Eric Reed, and Miyamoto is best known for her work with singers Nnenna Freelon and Rene Marie, so they arrive at this meeting place well equipped for the journey. They immediately establish themselves with an emotionally resonant reading of "My Foolish Heart" and a livelier than expected "Days Of Wine And Roses." Deep connections and confidence in conception are evident from the outset and continue to build on their rapport throughout. "But Beautiful" is colored by myriad shades of emotional color, "The Touch Of Your Lips" moves from sly intimacy to overjoyed shouts from the rooftops, and "Some Other Time" finds the right balance between happiness for what's been had and regret for what hasn't.
Harris' warm and inviting voice is a magnet for the ears, occasionally taking attention away from the idea of piano-and-voice-as-one, but he and Miyamoto usually manage to intertwine their sensibilities into a single, flowing presence. This music never serves as subservient imitation, thus calling this a "tribute" album would diminish what Harris and Miyamoto have created. Convergence is a gripping program that's best viewed as a companion piece to the Bennett and Evans recordings. ~ Dan Bilawsky

While the street date is a tad early for a review of this release, in the day of the digital download the old street date will soon be going the way of the analog clock and the old fashioned cover art. Sometimes a release such as Convergence is simply too good to sit on that long. There is some compelling back story here with Tony Bennett and Bill Evans having collaborated on two releases back in the 1970's and Convergence serving as a reminder of the elegance and timeless grace that once was vocal jazz. Far more than a set of passable covers, Convergence takes the work of two iconic masters and simply advances the special brand of eloquence and a virtual songbook roughly forty years to the present.
A pure cover record would be the equivalent of tap dancing in a musical minefield especially when taking on two legendary recordings that few modern musicians have dared to tackle. Convergence is a delightful sonic marriage of the Tony Bennet/Bill Evans Album and Together Again. What makes Convergence is a harmonious cohesion of musical thought and presentation. Two voices becoming one. Vocalist Allan Harris does a first rate job on "My Foolish Heart" and pianist Takana Miyamoto gives a virtuoso performance to help set the ambient quality that fills this lovely release. "Waltz For Debby" is a classic rendition of an iconic tune where Harris and Miyamoto place their own incredible high level indelible artistic mark on a classic from Bennet and Evans without disrespecting themselves or the original. "You Don't Know What Love Is" could be one of the better tunes on this release considering the obvious that taste is in fact subjective. Harris gives a magnificent vocal performance with impeccable phrasing and timing that is effortless. Miyamoto keeps a subtle but very lyrical presence pushing this tune to a different level than previously recorded. "You Must Believe In Spring" is a gorgeous ballad delivered with an endearing emotive quality and a tenderness mirrored by Miyamoto's performance on piano.
Time marches steadily on. Tony Bennet will not be in his 40's again and Evans left us far too soon. The joy in Convergence is that two artists of such high and gifted caliber are able to take a discography that has earned a more than special place in the jazz pantheon of classics and reinvent or perhaps reshape the memories of a forgotten past and give us treasured memories of the future.