Aki Takase - piano
Alexander von Schlippenbach - piano
recorded by Olaf Rupp at AA Studio, 1.-3. September 2021

Two grand pianos, quasi two orchestras, driven by two of the most distinguished personalities of contemporary jazz: Aki Takase and Alexander von Schlippenbach – they are having a conversation within the medium of sound. They complement one another in a way that makes any stylistic differentiation irrelevant. With all the transparency in the course of their playing the dialogical principle opens out into an holistic piano language. What counts is freedom and the responsibility to create something new, driven by the awareness of continuous change. (Bert Noglik)

''During the first attempts to improvise with four hands on the piano, it soon became clear that playing together without any conceptual guidelines - of whatever kind - can quickly lead to unwanted tautologies or even pleonasms. On the other hand, it is quite possible that with longer experience in practice, in the case of free" improvisation, where the corresponding impetus can unfold unrestrictedly, something useful will emerge. The present pieces, which were composed over a period of thirty years meet these criteria in different ways.'' (Liner notes by Alexander von Schlippenbach)