KAI WINDING “Duo Bones”

Kai Winding
Duo ‘Bones’
Red Records, distr. IRD

Personnel:
Kai Winding, Dino Piana (trombones), Enrico Pieranunzi (piano), Giovanni Tommaso (bass), Tullio De Piscopo (drums).
Recorded in Rome, November 17–18, 1979.

This is a classic jazz album in the truest sense: recorded in a single take, with minimal fuss, and driven by the sheer pleasure of playing together. The musicians simply hit record, and most of the tracks unfolded beautifully on the very first run-through. The forthcoming reissue of Duo ‘Bones’ offers a kind of old-fashioned joy that has become increasingly rare in today’s carefully calibrated studio productions.

The album documents a remarkable 1979 encounter in Rome between two post-bop trombone masters: Kai Winding—Danish by birth but long since an American citizen—and Italy’s own Dino Piana. Winding, a consummate stylist, remains best known for his legendary duo recordings with his groundbreaking African American counterpart, J.J. Johnson. Piana, who passed away just over a year and a half ago, was a virtuoso valve trombonist and a central figure in the development of Italian jazz.

While in Rome on a European tour, Winding was approached by promoter Alberto Alberti, who suggested he record an album with Piana, in the spirit of his famed duets with Johnson. The result is a thoroughly satisfying session. From the brisk, up-tempo title track, penned by Winding, to Kai and Dino, an elegant composition by Piana, the two engage in a flowing, sophisticated dialogue, full of clever and intricate counterpoint. Even on tracks where Winding takes center stage alone, such as Cole Porter’s Get Out of Town, the results are nothing short of delightful.

Much of the credit for the album’s success belongs to the outstanding rhythm section—an all-star lineup representing the best of Italian jazz at the time. Giovanni Tommaso, having set aside his jazz-rock explorations with Perigeo, anchors the group with understated authority. Tullio De Piscopo, a rhythmic powerhouse long before his later pop notoriety, provides driving, propulsive grooves. And the young Enrico Pieranunzi, already a striking pianist, alternates between McCoy Tyner-inspired intensity and moments of tender Mediterranean lyricism, as in the ballad Winding Lady H, foreshadowing the refined artistry that would later define his career.

Ivo Franchi