Takase and Bennink reinvent the piano trio – by transforming it into a duo. This is really an essay into how to make grown-up music fun, the other meaning of playing together. Monk and Fats Waller beam benignly on proceedings and those guys sure knew how to have fun. The pair balance this set nicely with Takase originals and a few ‘standards’. ‘Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?’ is delightful with its slow build to a light funereal pace, while Dolphy's ‘Hat And Beard’ is a frolicsome joy. Four Monk pieces add perfectly to the mix and to the impish Monkishness of ‘Rolled Up’ and ‘Hell Und Dunkel’ (“light and dark”). There are moments of Waller-like humour on the title track and ‘Baumkuchen’ that contrast beautifully with the more serious ‘My Tokyo’ and the gorgeous ‘Knut’. But this is really a strong response to Frank Zappa's rhetorical question – yes, humour does belong in music!