Roger Kellaway

RUBY BRAFF & ROGER KELLAWAY - INSIDE & OUT (1996)

1. Love Walked In
2. Yesterdays
3. Memories Of You
4. I Want To Be Happy
5. I Got Rhythm
6. Always
7. Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea
8. Basin Street Blues
9. Exactly Like You

Kellaway's next sparring partner was an old hand at stripped-down duets, cornetist Ruby Braff -- he of the Ellis Larkins and Dick Hyman connection -- and Braff seems to encourage Kellaway's out-there side more frequently on this all-standards CD. Terse and to the point, almost offhand in his penchant for placing odd notes in the strangest places, Braff's cornet opens holes in the texture for Kellaway to explore his freely eclectic muse. A highly unorthodox "I Got Rhythm" gives vent to a spectacular near-Tatum-esque outburst from Roger, and there are streaks of Romantic, Impressionistic, and contemporary classical pianism, boogie-woogie, and of course, stride. Yet Braff has his sweet moments too, as on "Memories of You," where he sets Kellaway off in his nostalgic All in the Family mode. The cover photo speaks volumes about the music within this package -- a pensive, dour, laconic Braff and a jaunty-hatted, inviting, perhaps slightly mischievous Kellaway. ~ Richard S. Ginell