Jazz and classical have long had an antagonistic relationship. Despite the two genres' overlapping affinities, jazz players often see classical as too stiff and intellectual, while classical musicians look down on the casual folksiness of jazz.
Those distinctions disappear entirely on Gary Burton and Makoto Ozone's new duo collaboration, "Virtuosi." The veteran Burton on vibraphone and up-and-comer Ozone on piano make classical music swing like it's never been swung before. Not since the Modern Jazz Quartet's seminal 1973 recording "Blues on Bach" has classical sounded so cool.
You probably couldn't imagine the selected pieces by Scarlatti, Ravel, Rachmaninoff and Brahms having a "groove," but Burton and Ozone manage to find one. They state the melodies directly and clearly, then take off to explore. One keeps time, while the other twists and turns the classical lines into fascinating variations.