Duets

Their creativity and widely-spanning musical chops make the album a delight to hear, without any fear of boredom due to the unusual duo instrumentation.
John Henry, Audiophile Audition

Vibraphonist Tom Collier & bassist Dan Dean have been making music together for close to 40 years. Their fleet, inspired pairing started when they met as pre-teens in Seattle. Later members of clarinetist Bill Smith's (Dave Brubeck) Trio, they moved to Los Angeles in 1975 and performed with top jazz artists including Howard Roberts, Ernie Watts, Blue Mitchell, Harold Land, Ernestine Anderson and Eddie Harris. Now based in Seattle, they are seperately involved in studio work, education, composing/arranging, publishing and performing. "Duets" features originals and music by Larry Coryell, Dave Holland, Miles Davis, and Gerry Mulligan.

Production Info:

Produced by Tom Collier and Dan Dean
Recorded by Dan Dean at DDP and Tom Collier at Mallet Head
Mixed by Dan Dean with Tom Collier at DDP, Sept. 23rd and 24th, 2004
Mastering by Dan Dean
Cover design by John Bishop
Cover photo by Alex L. Fradkin

Reviews of Duets

All About Jazz (Dan McClenaghan)
Ringing right in the middle of Duets, the new release by mallet man (vibes and marimba player) Tom Collier and bassist Dan Dean, is the unlikely--for a jazz set--Jagger/Richards tune, "What A Shame." It's an instrumental here, of course, but on the Rolling Stones version, the lyric goes: What a shame, nothing seems to be going right... It's ...

Audiophile Audition (John Henry)
Speaking of duos, here's another one you don't run into every day. Collier started his career early, playing the marimba on the Lawrence Welk Show at age 9. Tom and Dan's families ended up in Seattle, where the two began performing and recording together. Later at the U. of Washington Tom met and worked with clarinetist Bill Smith, heard on many Da ...

Jazz Times (Harvey Siders)
Tom Collier and Dan Dean show up again-this time up close and personal-on Duets (Origin). Joined at the hip (very hip) for four decades, they boast a passion for exploration and curiosity greater than Lewis and Clark's. This release, culled from four Seattle sessions recorded between 2001 and 2004, reveals a rich, swinging tapestry woven by vibraph ...

All Music Guide (Scott Yanow)
This collaboration by Tom Collier and Dan Dean is a bit reminiscent at times of Gary Burton and Steve Swallow, possibly because that project might have been the only previous set of vibes-electric bass duets. Vibraphonist Collier hints at Burton in spots, but also displays his own musical personality, particularly on the more boppish pieces, such a ...

Jazz Review (Bruce T. Bernardini)
Duets, trios, quartets, and even quintets are all nomenclatures of jazz music. Another name for this would be called bands or banding groups of people. Try to experiment by buying CDs with these different facets and hear the different sounds they produce. A fine example of a duet, is the new CD from Tom Collier (a vibraphonist), and Dan Dean (elect ...

Bass Player (Jonathan Herrera)
While bass-oriented CDs are not always the most musical affairs, this vibraphone-and-bass-guitar duet disc is a refreshing surprise. Collier & Dean cover an eclectic selection of jazzy material, delivering it with sophisticated skill and musicality. Dan Dean, who is well known in the audio production world for his sample CD collections, is a phenom ...