Loren Connors & Jim O'Rourke: Are You Going To Stop...In Bern? (2010)

GLENN ASTARITA,

Glenn Astarita

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Longtime contributor to AAJ and Downbeat, Jazz Review, EjazzNews, Radio DirectX.

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Published: September 13, 2010

Loren Connors & Jim O'Rourke: Are You Going To Stop...In Bern?

Track review of "You Can Stay If You Want, But I'm Going Home"

Recorded in 1997, this 2010 reissue—featuring guitarists Jim O'Rourke and Loren Connors—imparts a prismatic view of where experimentalism and Americana intersect folk-jazz, minimalism and improvisation.

Connors' prolific discography hearkens back to the 1970s, releasing over 50 albums amid recordings with guitar legend John Fahey and Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore. Coupled with O'Rourke's worldly permutations as a collaborator, producer and solo artist, this album looms as a match made in heaven.

The closing "You Can Stay If You Want, But I'm Going Home" encapsulates the album's aura. Here, the guitarists execute delicate phrasings via extended notes, twirling chord progressions and succinct melodies. They complement, invent and raise the pitch along with ethereal overtones. The album is a modicum of good taste and intricate guitar work; O'Rourke and Connors play all the right notes, and their understated synergy yields bountiful fruit.

Personnel: Loren Connors: guitar; Jim O'Rourke: guitar.

Record Label: Hatology