Adam and Sully: Two-piano format can work smoothly when jazz musicians establish rapport

Adam Birnbaum recalled in an interview for American Pianists Association that his lessons with established master Kenny Barron  used to consist of student and teacher each seated at his own piano in Barron's studio just playing through songs. Explicit teaching came mainly in the form of Barron challenging Birnbaum to pick up tunes he didn't know as Barron glided through  them.

The teaching that took place was by example, mutual regard and spontaneous modeling. Even when two pianists are on an equal professional footing, the learning and teaching can go back and forth as an audience is being entertained.

That's the premise that was carried through to fruition in "Adam & Sully," part of the Grand Encounters series of concerts the APA is presenting this season. Suitable to the genre, this encounter took place at the Jazz Kitchen, home for many years for the piano-trio and solo phases of the APA competition in jazz. Birnbaum won it in 2004; Sullivan Fortner, his partner in Saturday's concert, took home the Cole Porter Fellowship in Jazz in 2015.

The APA had two Steinway grands brought in from Chicago for the duo encounter. Brilliant and responsive instruments of no discernible difference, they seemed perfect vehicles for this inspired partnership of contest winners from two generations (in the concentrated manner of musical generations).

In the second set, after one of Duke Ellington's lesser-known tunes, featuring extensive exchanges of building materials, the Earl Hines classic "Rosetta" showed the duo's fondness for offbeat accents working against but not obliterating the reigning pulse of the rendition.

After a twinned journey through George Shearing's "Conception," it was time for  back-to-back solo outings. Birnbaum showed a patient approach to "Body and Soul," allowing the tune time for him to open up to his interpretation, with its florid right hand contrasted to poky left-hand chords. 

When it was Fortner's turn to solo, he opened with some "chimes" high up  on the keyboard. That suggestion of  holiday cheer was soon shadowed by some brooding upon the song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," which proceeded reflectively. The treatment suggested an ironic flip of the title, somewhat on the order of Barbra Streisand's half-century-old take on "Happy Days Are Here Again." Fortner built toward a complicated bridge near the end, putting a cap on the emotional complications of this holiday season.

Benny Golson's "Whisper Not" brought the duo back in sync, with a steady tempo inviting both men to supply their own "walking bass" accompaniments. There were some zesty four-bar exchanges along the way. The announced finale was Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride" (with no attempt to render trumpet's whinny at the end). There were a few episodes where I felt the pianists were essentially "playing the changes," but their imaginations would then regain control. Fortner's is of a particularly elfin kind: He brought in some Latin style,  paraphrasing "The Peanut Vendor" for a while. It all seemed to work, though there is precious little snow in a peanut vendor's milieu.

When the inevitable encore came, it was in the form of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas," given anthemic treatment in which Fortner's introductory hint that the audience to join in at the end was ignored: people wanted to hear Fortner sing it. He did that in a crooning yet slightly jolly manner touching upon Dizzy Gillespie's and Louis Armstrong's vocal styles.  The duo's commitment to the perpetual hit amounted to a respectful account, while not being afraid to steer clear of the secularized reverence often draped over the song. 

"Adam & Sully" was a delightful late addition to 2021's return to live performances locally, but it was also live-streamed for homebodies. It seems all our lives have become combinations of on-the-town and stay-at-home experiences. This was a good one.