Crystal Silence: In Praise of Small Forces (Pt. 1)
A playlist celebrating the ear-opening magic of the duo....
Here’s another thing we might want to hang onto: Duets.
Two artists just having a conversation. In a space with some natural ambience, where the sonic characteristics – the natural tone of a room – can add shape and color to what’s being played.
Duos, when properly captured, throw light on the things we miss when there’s lots going on, the nuances that sometimes get trampled within music made by larger forces. I’d argue that this is particularly important right now, at a time when the producers of pop music strive to hit the jugular within seconds of a song’s beginning, when the imperative is to astonish more than it is to engage.
That imperative does not always lure the ear deep into the underlying intricacies of a work (if they exist). It does not grow thoughtful listeners.
The record that got me thinking (again!) about the centrality of the duo dynamic is not at all a “typical” duo. It’s a new album called Blue Marble Sky by Jomoro, a project involving the ace studio drummer Joey Warnoker (Beck, R.E.M., many others) and percussionist Mauro Refosco of Atoms For Peace. It’s a retro-futurist textural fantasy, made in a playground of log drums and loops and rattling textures. Despite its layered, multi-tracked construction, it operates in a spirit of exchange throughout: One drummer drops a sleek beat, the other augments it with bells and chimes, outlining the dot-matrix pattern of a melody.
From there the playlist seeks more traditional discourse – the familiar theme of “Go Down Moses” re-imagined by pianist Hank Jones and bassist Charlie Haden. That was one of the most empathetic pairings in jazz history, and here’s another: The tandem of saxophonist Steve Lacy and pianist Mal Waldron, here represented by a transfixingly dour rendering of “Blues for Aida” recorded live at Amsterdam’s Bimhuis in 1982.
There’s an extended suite, “Arabia,” from the 1991 pairing of Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia and mandolin virtuoso David Grisman, that weaves together Cuban folk songs, tango, and hints of Spanish modal music.
And there’s a sparkling bit of flamenco from Seville-born guitar virtuoso Rafael Riqueni interacting animatedly with traditional percussion accompaniment, and the spacious and timeless version of “Children’s Song” found on the 1972 duo work by pianist Chick Corea and vibraphonist Gary Burton, Crystal Silence.
Enjoy!
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