Martin Pyne David Beebee: Ripples

British vibraphonist Martin Pyne's decision to pair with David Beebee's electric piano engenders an unusual combination for the largely freely improvised Ripples. With its fusion associations, the sound of the Fender Rhodes seems slightly retro in this sort of setting. But equally unusual is the degree of overlap in the tonality; the keyboard could be the bottom end of a single instrument completed by the vibraphone. It is a dynamic which they explore across a dozen tracks on this studio date from Spring 2022, of which five tracks stem from the pens of the principals while the remaining seven are joint creations.

With his dampened notes, ringing sustains and percussive textures, Pyne hews as much to the lineage of Walt Dickerson as to more mainstream players, although his lyrical sensibility tilts him away from the extremes. Beebee takes a largely supportive role, offering a loose counterpoint, holding down the lower register, sometimes even suggesting a bass marimba or steel pans. In the liner notes Pyne talks about the liquid quality of their interaction, hence the title; but they also generate a somewhat dreamy, otherworldly feel too, as if there are facets of their communication hidden from view.

Maybe that is more prevalent in the improvs, which at times push the bounds of the constricted palette, although the impishly buoyant "Kawako," the leaping zigzagging trajectories of "Dance Of The Damsel Flies" and the echoey rattling of "Night Music" undoubtedly buck that trend. Among the highlights are Pyne's "Seeking Refuge," in which he pitches the aching melody against a darker Rhodes undercurrent, his courtly "Sodankyla," one of the most rhythmic cuts, and the waves of iridescence evoked by the joint "Kingfisher Blue."

Pyne's understated but singular perspective on the vibes merits investigation.