Don Peretz/Jacob Sacks: Numerals

The integer most integral to Numerals is the number two. A duo date highlighting the communicative and experimental bents bonding drummer-composer Don Peretz with pianist Jacob Sacks, it was recorded in two parts, in two states, with two different modi operandi in play. The first session, at Kaleidoscope Sound in Union City, New Jersey, was entirely open-minded and open-ended, with free-composed creations forming a chassis, and Peretz, in electro-acoustic maverick mode, building around that body with post-production design elements and enhancements. The second get-together, at Big Orange Sheep in Brooklyn, New York, was also highly adventurous in its own slanted stance, but it had a tighter framework, focusing on music penned for this partnership.

The contrast between what came out of each of those experiences is marked—the au naturel prancing across the playful "Keirin" opener followed by the effects-swathed trip of its "Arthur's Bread" neighbor immediately separates one creative space from the other. But a clear continuity in terms of dialogue and inventive thought largely erases dividing line(s) and helps tie all of the music together.

Though it's truly something to travel into the weeds in any of these creations, soaking up each second at a sub-structural level, it's the whole gestalt—of each number in its entirety and the album in full—that proves most satisfying from a listening stance. Every small gesture helps to create a big(ger) picture, and that's easy and enjoyable to see. "Épater Le Bourgeoisie," borrowing a title from the French Decadent rally cry, grooves askew, working switchbacks as it struts its stuff; "Karla," capitalizing on Peretz's two-handed tension—his masterful independence and interdependence—leaves Sacks free to paint in looser, broader strokes; and "Bag Chags," perhaps the most hypnotic happening on the playlist, uses Sacks' stabilizing lines as mesmeric hooks for the margins while leaving him free to roam midstream.

"Tyranny of Fine," an unsettled groove-scape, may be the most telling track in the mix. Acting as something of a microcosm for the entire album, it presents with a concise running time and minimalist-maximalist duality in invention(s). Taken together, Numerals' nine tracks clock in under 34 minutes. Yet within that tight timeframe Peretz and Sacks accomplish quite a bit, serving as both foils and fixed allies who take pleasure in roaming a broad stylistic expanse. This is a duo like no other and an incredibly strong statement about Peretz's unique vision.