Champian Fulton’s series of rewarding recordings are known to many of the readers of The Syncopated Times. She is equally skilled as a 1940s-type singer and a swinging pianist who loves to occasionally sound a bit like Erroll Garner. Her two talents always result in appealing music that straddles the boundaries between swing and 1950s straight ahead jazz.
Cory Weeds is also a multi-talented individual. Born, raised and based in Canada, he runs the Cellar Music label, ran the highly-rated Cellar Jazz Club during 2001-14, and is a very good alto-saxophonist who has led at least 22 albums of his own since 2008.
Fulton and Weeds had previously recorded together on two occasions resulting in a quartet album (Change Partners) and a duet outing (Dream A Little). Every Now And Then, which was recorded in 2023, is their second duet set and is a consistent delight.
The alto-piano duo performs a few instrumentals (Frank Wess’ “Boss Tutch,” the cooking Fulton blues “That’s Not Your Donut,” and a feature for Weeds on “The Best Things In Life Are Free”) and has the pianist singing several standards plus the lesser-known “Carry Me Back To Old Manhattan.” The music always has a spontaneous feel as the two musicians consistently react to each other’s ideas. They create lively music that is easy to enjoy and well worth hearing several times.
Every Now And Then
Cory Weeds Meets Champian Fulton
Cellar Music Group CMO 60424
Bandcamp.com
