Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Gilbert Isbin & Geert Verbeke: Twins

223

Gilbert Isbin & Geert Verbeke: Twins

By

View read count
Gilbert Isbin & Geert Verbeke: Twins
A most unusual and inviting disc: Gilbert Isbin plays guitar (classical and prepared), and Geert Verbeke plays a variety of percussion instruments. Together they make meditative, refreshing, and inviting music that often tends toward East Asian models both in sound quality and in sonic depth.

There's a great variety to the sound. On "Secrets," for example, they seem to be able to achieve the shimmering sound of a synthesizer with acoustic effects alone: the beautiful natural resonance of bells, underlined by a string effect that's almost vocal. The opener, "Amphora," tends toward the world of the raga, while other tracks like "Saskia Maya" draw on the percussive sonorities of other, lesser known cultures. "Threat" plays off guitar scribbles that convey the sense of foreboding without ever breaking the musical texture. Nor is a grim visage required: the brief closing "Koko," for example, is wild and playful.

This disc should not be missed by anyone who appreciates the sound of genuine and non-clichéd acoustic guitar, expertly supported by an imaginative percussionist.

Personnel

Gilbert Isbin, classical and prepared guitar; Geert Verbeke, perc, prepared piano.

Track listing: Amphora / Royal Tune / Saskia Maya / Secrets / Nazca / Wide / Threat / Embrace / Jonas & the Fish / Open Day / Apple / Loop / Tingsha's / Child / Koko.

Album information

Title: Twins | Year Released: 1999 | Record Label: Tern Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.