Preformed by Marcus Miller ft. Alex Han
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAvtD0XxzT4
This tune was composed in 1935 and is what we call in the Jazz world a ballad. It is a slow piece of music with a nice melody that people can improvise over. As jazz ballads have developed, many jazz musicians have found them more difficult because they chord changes go by a lot slower, meaning the improvisation has to be a lot deeper, thus more melodic than a fast tune where intensity is just as important as notes.
This piece requires a different kind of intensity. These two phenomenal musicians brought it. Marcus Miller (Bass Clarinet) plays the melody for the most part, which sounds pretty soft spoken, without the edge of the saxophone. Yet every time the melody is quoted, it is slightly different, which is the essence of Jazz. Mr. Miller puts his own spin on the melody, and occasionally works with Alex Han to create all but beautiful duets.
Alex Han is an up and coming musician who is a ridiculous player. At only 22, he is playing lines that pros have been playing, but with his own bite. He playing style reminds me a lot of Kenny Garrett, with an edge, yet majestically melodic, especially over sweet chord changes such as these. His movement inside and out of the chord changes is absolute genius, and shows a how he is a highly capable musician. Yet, he maintains many a melodic line, using the entire range of the instrument.
Alex Han's unaccompanied solo at the end of this recording is simply beautiful. Despite their being no rhythm section, he maintains within the chord changes of the song. His crazy fast runs give this an uneasy feel, but this is only to build tension, because he is going towards the last chord, which leaves the audience in a haze, unsure of what has happened.
