Duet reflects many of the compositional lessons Corea had learned with his other projects but, as ever, the pianist found ways to paradoxically simplify instrumentally, yet engage on a more complex level, his duo with Burton. The 15-minute “Duet Suite” opens the album on a bright note but, with a knotty melody that Corea and Burton deliver in unison, with the same degree of facility as on Crystal Silence, it’s proof (as if any were needed) that they were still capable of doing more than just capturing notes off the written page. Instead, even the most serpentine of melodies—and there are many, just in the episodic “Duet Suite” alone—are played with both Corea and Burton intuiting each other’s most understated nuance of expression, and feeling as profoundly as they perform impressively. The influence of Corea’s Spanish roots, which surfaced as early as “Señor Mouse” but became deeper and more integrated in the intervening years, are heard as well, contributing to a percussive approach to pianism that has defined Corea ever since.

— AllAboutJazz