Kevin Miller/Dan Blake

Christelle Séry/Jerôme Deschamps
TE TI’AMA
Clean Feed CF 672 CD

The closest thing to mutual musical skinny dipping, the congruence of one horn and one string player exposes both partners naked improvisational skills without the benefit of backing instruments. These challenges can be resolved in varied ways and these discs illustrate two of them. French players, trombonist Jerôme Deschamps, who has been part of notaed and improvised ensembles and now teaches, and guitarist Christelle Séry, who also moves among genres, have come up with 11 miniatures on TE TI’AMA which are all of one piece. Meanwhile the five duets on At First Light elaborated by New Yorkers, guitarist Kevin Miller, also an educator who and has played with associates like Samo Šalamon, and saxophonist Dan Balke, who has recorded with Robert Dick among others, can be likened to the skills of synchronized swimmers. Each track is multi-sectionals, but in sync.

Although the chief attribute of the Gallic session appears to discover how many unexpected and extended tones can be extracted from each instrument, Séry and Deschamps still stake out particular roles. While jagged string patterns and Hawaiian-guitar like echoes are also part of her tool box, Séry usually sets herself up as the accompanist as continuous strums create a shifting continuum. This rhythmic floor gives Deschamps ample space to explore parts of his horn. From the top, they include wide plunger smears, mouthpiece sucking, wallowing drones and ricocheting grace notes.

However on “Aho” and “’Aru” they shift roles. Deschamps’ amplified slurs on the second allow the guitarist to insert single string stings among concentrated growls. On “Aho” the trombonist’s plunger stops and squeezed portamento mean that Séry can move forward with resonating slaps and bongo-like string percussion.

Throughout the duo also pivot to more expected strategies, usually on the guitarist’s part. For instance funky tongue pops are mated with flanged string licks in another sequence as folksy guitar strums introduce the trombonist’s double-tongued flutters. There are even track such as “’Ōpiti” where the outlines of Jazz-affiliated swing is suggested with graceful brass flutters and swirling broken chord string strokes. Still there are more chugging triplet extensions heard than straight time associations.

Traditional only when stacked up against Séry and Deschamps’ playing, Blaker and Miller appear more interactive in their improvising. Starting with “Heliacal”, the first track, singular guitar strums and bent note sax projections join for a broken chord, jerking narrative. Soon, Miller’s slurred fingering complementing Blake’s prestissimo tongue stops dovetails into a melody that takes full advantage of reed honks and clenched string jabs.

Never rejecting close listening responses, Blake and Miller move from technical extensions to lyrical asides and vice versa, preventing either to dominate the narratives. If the saxophonist emphasizes split tones and body tube vibrations, then the guitarist is there with tolling jabs that preserve cadences rhythms, And if guitar motifs include detours into pointillist frails and elevated stings, then the saxophonist contributes comprehensive reed flutters and straightening tones for duo intersection. Melody and modifications characterize most tracks.  

Each duo overcomes the stripped-down musical challenge in a unique fashion, and if each would excite different audience, both deserve to be heard.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: TE: 1. Tohorā 2. Reo ti’amā 3. Aho 4. Haere 5. Hiro a Hina 6. ‘Ōpiti 7. ‘Aru 8. Manu 9. Ao 10. Hihi marama 11. Moemoeā

Personnel: TE: Jérôme Descamps (trombone) and Christelle Séry (guitar)

Track Listing: At: 1. Heliacal 2. Sharp Eye 3. Mystic Will 4. Infested 5.  Perilous Sun

Personnel: At: Dan Blake (tenor and soprano saxophones) and Kevin Miller (guitar)