Peter Brötzmann / Paul G. Smyth: Tongue In A Bell

There are only a handful of pianists the great reedist Peter Brötzmann has worked with. Back in the Machine Gun (FMP, 1968) days it was Fred Van Hove at the keyboards. Then there was Misha Mengelberg and Alexander von Schlippenbach, plus those Berlin sessions with Cecil Taylor, and the new millennium recordings with Japanese pianist Masahiko Satoh: Yatagarasu (Not Two, 2012) and Long Story Short (Trost, 2013). Add to that list Irishman Paul G. Smyth.

This 2015 live concert at the National Concert Hall in Dublin captures, with brilliant sound, this piano/reeds duo. It is a loud and intimate affair, and that's not an oxymoron. When Brötzmann is in the house, plaster and mortar are at risk. The same can be said with Smyth at the piano, very much like the saxophonist's recent duos with pedal steel guitarist Heather Leigh, the machine gun adds a bit of a suppressor. But the saxophonist sheds none of his patented intensity.

The disc is comprised of the title track at 25 minutes and two shorter duos clocking in less than 10. The guess is that these two artists had never previously performed together. They open with the rapid churn of white waters, as a way to get their bearings and chase unsuspecting smooth jazz fans from the concert hall. Brötzmann's tenor saxophone blasts ballistic notes against the dense chords and, at times, the fists of Smyth. As their boat settles less notes come forth, but their strength intensifies. Eventually, Brötzmann moves to the background and Smyth produces a bright and shimmering solo. Rejoined by the the saxophone, the pair ease into a blues riff favorite by the saxophonist. Again, Brötzmann quiets and Smyth carries the mail, Cecil-like. Next the saxophone is swapped for taragato. With this this conversation dives deeper as the two have become confederates. The lengthy track signals its endpoint with Smyth's roiling thunder of notes as Brötzmann quiets his demons. The remaining two tracks are more intimate, with Smyth working more of the interior and body of his piano, and Brötzmann on clarinet before ending on tenor. Its hello/goodbye, let's meet again soon.