InDuologue: Blue Skies

A majority of jazz vocals discs I have heard in my 20 years of writing about them have included at least one voice-bass duet. It is a most effective format, but one not for the faint of heart as an artist. Both duet participants are more naked than in any larger format. It takes two performers who not only have perfect time, but perfect time that is synchronized to one another. When effective, this format makes for a challenging and rewarding experience. It is clean and sensual like making love in a bath of warmed milk.

Entire recordings of voice-bass duet do exist. Bull Fonda Duo: Cup of Joe, No Bull (Corn Hill Indie, 2005), a fine recording pops into memory. Presently, an equally fine and enjoyable duet reveals itself in InDialogue's Blue Skies. InDuologue is a Greek duo made up of vocalist Alexandra Lerta and bassist Vasilis Stefanopoulos. The two share a musical empathy that is drum tight. They swing as effortlessly and hard as a driving big band whose momentum approaches entropy at infinity.

An intelligently assemble recital makes up Blue Skies. The disc opens with a whispery sensual "My Little Suede Shoes" paired with "Day by Day" that immediately engulfs its Latin roots, turning them upside down. A solid "Tin Tin Deo" shimmies and shines with Stefanopoulos dragging chords on the road ahead of Lerta's, teasing, coquettish delivery. The duo take the basic, "Hum Dum Blues," swinging and virtuosic from its simplicity to the pop- tranquil ballad of "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress," the most perfect performance on a recording of the same. The two transcend the title piece by downshifting into low gear, maximizing the dense momentum of the performance. A great accomplishment.

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