Patricia Brennan And Sylvie Courvoisier, Ambrose Akinmusire And Mary Halvorson, Mick Goodrick And Fred Hersch: Playing Doubles

Watching a musician perform solo vividly illustrates how difficult it is to play music well. And observing a pair of instrumentalists in action together graphically depicts how hard it is for musicians to play well together. In the case of these three teams of doubles, no one individual leads, except occasionally in transitions. Rather, the two individuals move parallel in ascent and descent, to the right or left and forward/backward. The respective dynamics reveal uncanny symbioses, of which the participants are fully aware—hence the collaboration(s)—but they are nonetheless clearly enthralled by the sensations. Thus, the unhesitating progress that ensues, once they have begun to play, creates music as transportive as it is transformative and altogether wondrous in its subdued potency.

Patricia Brennan and Sylvie Courvoisier
Talamanti
Antlia Records
2026

In the ever-so-grand tradition of the piano and vibes collaborations between the late Chick Corea and Gary Burton, the notes Sylvie Courvoisier and Patricia Brennan strike on their respective instruments can mesh, bounce off each other to be deflected in another direction or fly on past altogether, darting or floating along depending on the force with which they are hit. And the nine cuts here seem constructed to delineate the diversity of paths: "Disparate Chase," for instance, finds the sound of the ivories as a backdrop for the resonance of the mallets on keys, while on "The Time We Spent," the glowing warmth Brennan conjures up more often than not envelopes Courvoisier's ringing tones. Just as this album title is also the name of this duo, in a roundabout way, so too do these two artists, on a track such as "Perdides En El Lamento," pique the curiosity as means to demonstrate the mechanics of the instruments and the various methods by which they come to life; even a number as brief as "Trece Cielos" is simultaneously a lesson in imaginative utilization of the devices' potential and an exhibition of the symmetry and synchrony of Brennan and Courvoisier's talent and imagination. Recordings by Ryan Streber, mixed by Owen Mulholland, then mastered by Chris Allen capture the nuanced clarity of motion produced by David Breskin.

Ambrose Akinmusire And Mary Halvorson
Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings
Nonesuch Records
2026

Based on the versatility inherent in Ambrose Akinmusire and Mary Halvorson's respective instruments of trumpet and guitar, the partnership of these two uninhibited iconoclasts' is rife with possibility. "Nice To Meet You For The First Time" is only the most obvious instance of Akinmusire and Halvorson's shared alchemy: as with sustained observation of the album's artwork by Adam Henry, keen listening reveals sonic shapes morphing between liquid and solid, contouring, collapsing and colliding during numbers such as "Soundcheck." Devices such as pedals aid both the trumpeter and guitarist in navigating their interactions, yet a tangible humanity pervades all the action in the recordings engineered by Chris Allen, then mixed and mastered by Dave Darlington. Evocatively titled and played pieces such as "Watersmoke" entice, then seize attention, ultimately turning this forty-six minutes into ever-so-dense contemplation, that state of being purposefully set up by Akinmusire's vocal caterwauling on "This Vivid," then brought to a tranquil resolution of sorts via "Blood & Sand." Indeed, "Tangled Pretty" is at once a song title and an accurate description of the Akinmusire/Halvorson dynamic, so much so it might well have been used as the name of this album; as such, it would have shorn off the artsy air of pretension superfluous to the heady atmosphere conjured through this meeting of two supremely agile, imaginative minds.

Mick Goodrick And Fred Hersch
Feebles, Fables and Ferns
ECM Records
2026

In the hands of simpatico handlers of guitar and piano, those instruments can create delicious contrasts besides effecting blends of notes striking in their sonority. Mick Goodrick and Fred Hersch waste no time exploring those possibilities, staking out some fertile ground for themselves in this cryptic title song, then proceeding with no small amount of self assurance on "Falling Grace." As on "Away 10"/"Amazing," the two musicians carefully place the notes they play, yet without any of the overly correct approach that would render the performances stiff and antiseptic. On the contrary, these almost thirty-nine minutes, originally recorded in 1988 (then remixed by Chris Allen in 2025), exude an impeccable sheen matching the fluency of the duo's musicianship: their interactions effortlessly dovetail. And the estimable virtues redolent here also includes the politic choice of material: ranging from tunes by each participant including the pianist's ever-so-evocative "Heartsong," there is also Mal Waldron's "Soul Eyes" as an ever-so-fitting conclusion prefaced by the fertile middle ground of spontaneous improvisations called "Five Excursions:" the wisely-positioned insertion of Grant Green's "Out Of Nowhere" thus functions as a segue. The distinct separation of the two instruments across the stereo spectrum is a constant but hardly intrusive reminder of the quiet and gentle but nevertheless kinetic instrumental relationship between Mick Goodrick and Fred Hersch

Tracks and Personnel

Talamanti

Tracks: Disparate Chase; The Time We Spent; Corto; Perdidos en el Lamento; Trece Cielos; Hojas de Malabar; Knots and Dander: Coma Berenices; EQ Distant.

Personnel: Patricia Brennan: vibraphone & marimba; Sylvie Courvoisier: piano

Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings

Tracks: Prelude in the Ash; This Vivid; Nice to meet you again for the first time; Soundcheck; Watersmoke; Tangled Pretty; Ofo; Blood & Sand; Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings.

Personnel: Mary Halvorson: guitar; Ambrose Akinmusire: trumpet.

Feebles, Fables and Ferns

Tracks: Feebles, Fables and Ferns; Falling Grace; Away 10/Amazing; Five Excursions; Out of Nowhere; Heartsong; Soul Eyes.

Personnel:Mick Goodrick: guitar; Fred Hersch: piano