Martin Taylor & Alan Barnes - Two for the Road (Woodville 2011)

In this inspired 2011 pairing, world-class guitarist Martin Taylor meets multi award winning reeds man Alan Barnes in an intimate duet setting. Taylor is, of course, known for his long association with Stephane Grappelli and his highly successful solo career, which starred Barnes as part of his Spirit of Django group. Barnes is simply Britain's #1 mainstream reeds player and concentrates solely on clarinet on this album. The repertoire on the recording is wide ranging and unusual yet is complimented by two catchy and accessible originals from the pen of each player. Beautifully recorded at Castle Sound Studios, this disc sees the two musicians bring out the best in each other in an "after hours" session which, whilst clearly virtuosic, features some beautifully relaxed playing. (amazon.com)