Ran Blake & Jeanne Lee - Free Standards

In 1961 singer Jeanne Lee (1939-2000) and pianist Ran Blake (born 1935) emerged as one of the most innovative duos on the New York jazz scene.

Presenting an almost freely improvised reading of standard and original melodies, they blended voice and piano in a manner seemingly without any boundaries except those imposed by their individual disciplines. It was a stunning combination, but aside from a few concerts, a local television show, a praised RCA Victor album, and an appearance at the 1962 Monterey Jazz Festival, they found little work in the US.

In Europe, however, it was a different story. There the duos subtlety, daring and wit, along with Lees warmth and precision and Blakes inventiveness, were immediately appreciated. They opened a series of well-received North-European concerts in 1963 at Stockholms Golden Circle and returned there three years later, when these examples of their unique artistry were captured in a studio recording session. In combination they pass, blend, meld, and move around each other in a manner both delicately nuanced and vaguely disconcerting, demanding attention in a way no other group of this kind has done.

01. Ticket to Ride (Lennon-McCartney) 1:42
02. Kinda Sweet (Kjell Samuelson) 2:52
03. Corcovado: Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars (A.C. Jobim-G.Lees) 2:14
04. Lets Go (Kjell Samuelson) 2:57
05. Ja-Da (Bob Carleton) 2:07
06. Bombastica! (Kjell Samuelson) 2:38
07. Lydiana: People of this World (Blake-Gautreau) 2:22
08. Crystal Trip (Ran Blake) 1:28
09. A Taste of Honey (Scott-Marlow) 2:35
10. Night and Day (Cole Porter) 3:59
11. I Can Tell (Kjell Samuelson) 2:15
12. Take the A Train (Billy Strayhorn) 3:14
13. Living Up to Life (Kjell Samuelson) 3:00
14. A Hard Days Night (Lennon-McCartney) 2:06
15. The Girl from Ipanema (A.C. Jobim-De Moraes-Gimbel) 2:41
16. Vanguard (Ran Blake) 3:30
17. Glaziation (Ran Blake) 0:31
18. You Stepped out of a Dream (Herb Brown-Kahn) 5:26
19. I Can Tell More (Kjell Samuelson) 4:15
20. Desafinado & One Note Samba (A.C. Jobim-N.Mendonça) 4:19
21. Stars Fell on Alabama (Perkins-Parish) 2:28
22. Just Friends (Klenner-Lewis) 3:32
23. Free Standards (Kjell Samuelson) 4:04
24. Ill Remember April (Raye-De Paul-Johnston) 2:52
25. Honeysuckle Rose (Waller-Razaf) 2:36