Whenever and wherever Ebony & Ivory has performed during the last four years, audiences have enthusiastically responded to the variety of the Duo's repertoire and the versatility of their musicianship. Their debut CD entitled "Red Hot" presents a selection of pieces representative of a typical Ebony & Ivory concert, as well as introducing two new compositions - "Blue Grass and Green Sky" and "Red Hot" - written by pianist/composer/arranger Andrew Gilpin especially for this recording.

One of the charms of this CD is that it defies labelling: Its musical styles run the gamut from bluegrass/jazz fusion to classical, with ragtime, Klezmer, musical theatre, straight-ahead jazz and even a lyrical New Age tune tucked somewhere in-between. To convincingly perform repertoire across such a broad musical spectrum demands a high degree of both interpretive sensitivity and outstanding technique: On both counts Ebony & Ivory soars. As one reviewer commented, "Mr. Jacobowitz delighted attendees with two Benny Goodman songs so well played as to be breathtaking...His style was impeccable and resulted in a rambunctious romp through the 40's which the audience happily soaked up." His response to Andrew Gilpin's rendition of a trio of Scott Joplin's rags was that they "...were all played with a sentimentally light touch that Mr. Joplin himself was known to favor..." and that his performance of Maple Leaf Rag was delivered with regard "...for the fine compositional features that make the piece so nice to listen to when done in the true Joplin fashion."

While most of the music on this recording features Andrew at the piano and Fred on the Bb clarinet, for some of the selections Andrew moves to the Korg Triton Pro-X and the Roland AX-1 keyboards, with Fred switching to Eb clarinet as well as alto and soprano saxophones. The ability of the Duo to incorporate a variety of instruments in their performance allows both them and their audiences access to a breadth of musical styles and tastes. With guest artists Cliff Almond, Rodrigo Chavez, Tom Hazlitt, Wilson Laurencin, Ted Quinlan, Dave Weckl and Victor Wooten, the disc offers the added dimension of intricate ensemble pieces as well.

Until now Ebony & Ivory has been strictly a concert hall treat, but the appearance of their first CD not only brings the feeling and the flavour of the Duo's music to a much broader listening audience, but also presents an exciting addition to the recording scene that is truly "Red Hot!"