Bruce Arnold & Olivier Ker Ourio: Duets (2005)

Jim Santella

Senior Contributor since 1997

Jim Santella has been contributing CD reviews, concert reviews and DVD reviews to AAJ since 1997. His work has also appeared in Southland Blues, The L.A. Jazz Scene, and Cadence Magazine.

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Published: March 2, 2005

Moody jazz and blues from the modern mainstream allow this duo to explore currents that emphasize melody and harmony over rhythm. Together, Bruce Arnold and Olivier Ker Ourio weave intricate patterns of sound on Duets that belie a melancholy refrain into which emotions fall loosely and untangled.

Their aim is perfectly clear: to paint languorous pictures where a soul can rest alongside ocean waves of sensuous music. Ker Ourio's harmonica wafts on an easygoing breeze, rising and falling with the heartbeat. His full, rich tone fills the air like clouds of sulfur. Breathing in and out naturally, he brings us a relaxed session that's filled with emotion.

Bruce Arnold provides the compositions on Duets. He favors twelve-tone ideology in pensive settings. This gives the duo a lush bed into which his guitar gracefully settles. "Spurge" and "Spurge Jam" push with a light spirit. Both pieces allow the two artists to lift the session's pace a little. The remainder of the program rests casually in a pensive mood that evokes sadness and moody reflection.

The beauty of these duets lies in the interaction between Arnold's guitar and Ker Ourio's harmonica. A cohesive and wholesome collaboration, Duets is meant to be admired from a close distance when time allows for a restful celebration of the arts.

Track Listing: Spurge; Blue Lotus; Reflection; Consistancy; Repetitive Behavior; A Day in the Badlands; Spurge Jam; Release; Blues for Arnie; Endless Reflection; A Cry.

Personnel: Bruce Arnold- guitar; Olivier Ker Ourio- harmonica.

Record Label: Muse Eek
Style: Straight-ahead/Mainstream