As far as can be recalled by Disaster Amnesiac, documented cases of Jazz improvisors working within the mode of duo interaction are quite rare before the late Coltrane period and then there are scores of them. Justifiably so, too. An improvising duo with the right players can show regions of pure density and equally pure spaciousness, even within the same track. One need only listen to Interstellar Space, played by 'trane and Rashid Ali, for ample evidence of those dynamic variances within music that are possible. Lots of practitioners of Improvised Music have followed suit in that definitive album's wake. Here are a few that I've been digging lately.
Rent Romus/Tatsuya Nakatani-Uplift; Edgetone Records, 2025
Woodwinds player/composer/improvisor Rent Romus and percussionist/composer/improvisor Tatsuya Nakatani are established voices within certain spheres of the Improvised Music scene. Rent has taken his music as far afield as Finland and into the United States Midwest along with being a stalwart of the Northern California one. Rent has gone deeply into Scandinavian roots for compositional inspiration along with Jazz and multiple branches from its aesthetic tree. Tatsuya tours all over the place with his solo percussion artistry; getting to see the way that he organizes his van is reason enough to catch one of his appearances in this reporter's opinion. On their recently released Uplift, the duo kicks off with feels of invocation. The explorations of these unique players show their signature sounds and stylistic approaches as they chase each other's riffs over the course of eleven tracks. Nakatani's extended techniques have been exactingly explored and he's one of the most innovative players around. Romus can often pull gorgeous tones from his alto and C-melody saxophones, along with pulling much more abstract ones from these and other woodwinds. This combination finds microtonal scrapes and squeaks and scratches too along the way of this set to flesh out the earthier tones that Rent has also developed within his research of Folk Forms. He's in the line of the likes of Albert Ayler in that way. Nakatani's brush work is sublime as it jitters across his drums and resonant metals. Standout track The Great Path Will Always Find Us has such mysterious and intriguing durations. Uplift is a fine representation for both of these cats, and thankfully they're both still out there plying their craft. Fans of improvisation owe it to themselves to seek out their live gigs!
Derek Bailey/John Stevens-The Duke Of Wellington; Confront Recordings, 2025
Those familiar with Derek Bailey will likely be aware of the guitarist's fearlessness in terms of performance. The man spent decades boldly going into musical situations in which uncertainty and even failure were eminently possible and one assumes even desired. No surprise then that live set from which The Duke Of Wellington is pulled dives with immediacy into the abstract. Along with drummer/composer John Stevens, Derek hits off really quickly into areas of furious interaction, musical jousting that the two sound to have really enjoyed partaking in. Bailey's signature acoustic guitar style, generally staccato, and Steven's small kit striking with varied implements chatter and chitter to each other and by themselves. The sound matrix rises and falls and rises again, with lonely bell tones morphing into much more vast thickets before drifting back into the quieter parts. One can tell that this duo were listening to each other and well appraised of each other's moves. It's quite possible that this felt anathema to Bailey, but if it did there's no evidence of him being disappointed with the situation that unfolded at The Duke Of Wellington Pub in London (fun fact there are two of them per Google Maps). John's pocket trumpet chops had this listener wondering if Don Cherry had been in town when this set was waxed! Additionally one cannot enthuse enough about his drumming skills. He was able to coax so much variation out of small kits and adjacent percussive bits and pieces. The enthusiastic applause of the audience proves that there are people out there interested in the esoteric melodies of micro tones. Neither of these guys are around in the physical dimensions anymore so documents such as The Duke Of Wellington are crucial.
The Denison/Kimball Trio-Walls In the City; Skin Graft Records, 1994
If the reader is wondering whether the recent passing of drummer Jim Kimball lead Disaster Amnesiac to Walls In the City, the first release of three from the duo called The Denison Kimball Trio they would not be mistaken. I hadn't played it in quite some time and the news about Jim's death sent me over to the "D" section to find it. This soundtrack recording for the film by Jim Sikora has eleven tracks of Bebop rooted guitar and drum improvisations. Kimball sticks to brushed patterns on his kit while Denison explores his love of chordal inversion and arpeggio atop that action. They keep things relatively cool throughout, which is fine, especially for soundtrack music. One doesn't want to overwhelm the viewer with too much sound. It's a record with very spacious qualities generally and as such it's quite effective as celluloid soundtrack. That being said I had some quality musical enhancement from its tunes on a few recent drives. Track number ten, Postlude, is a real standout with all of Duane and Jim's moves locked in, while One If By Land provides percussive contrast with bongo sounds and chimed guitar notes. Presumably informed with a Mid Western sense of space and really well engineered, Walls In the City gives much insight into the musical thoughts of two preeminent players from the post Hardcore and Punk scenes of the American heartland.
One thought that Disaster Amnesiac has had while listening to these three records of duos playing Improvised Music is that there must be, right at this very instant in time, hundreds of two man set ups getting down to and down with their stuff. That's a tremendously inspiring notion, as are said trio of documents.
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