Faith Brackenbury / Tony Bianco: Wayward Mystic-Improvisations inspired by the music of St.Hildegard von Bingen

Violin and drum duos are something of a rarity in the jazz and improvised music arena. Swift Are The Winds Of Life (Survival, 1976) by Leroy Jenkins and Rashied Ali, and Bangception (Hat Musics, 1983) by Billy Bang and Denis Charles come to mind, but few others. However, violinist Faith Heleene Brackenbury and drummer Tony Bianco make a convincing case for the format on Wayward Mystic. In fact it is their second outing following Rising Up (Discus Music, 2019), but this time out their unfettered interplay draws inspiration from an unlikely source, the music of 14th century abbess and visionary Hildegard von Bingen. On a double album of eight expansive cuts totaling 139 minutes, the results go beyond genre into an emotive netherworld both meditative and ecstatic.

Brackenbury invokes a wide range of influences, touching on the liturgical tradition and the Irish fiddle canon, as well as the questing investigations of John Coltrane. Consequently her violin soars in melodic variations, interrogates insistent motifs, and skitters and scrapes. Bianco's fluttering accompaniment abstains from directness. He uses his drum kit to create a hypnotic drone from continual rolls and intermittent cymbal and snare punctuation, like the rumble of the distant ocean. He has furnished a similar approach with saxophonist Paul Dunmall, on Spirits Past And Future (Duns, 2008), accentuating a timeless searching quality.

At best, the divine tunes and free-floating uplift engender a beautiful and enduring experience in which the length of the tracks encourages the development of a trance-like state for player and listener alike. In particular, Brackenbury's ceaseless stream of lyric extemporizations and Bianco's gently pulsing wall of sound on "Hymn Of Hildegard" are sublime. On three of the four numbers titled after von Bingen's works, Brackenbury sings the composer's ethereal melodies to launch the ensuing duet. She also supplements the natural tone of her instrument with effects pedals, looping and echoing on "O Quam Mirabilis" where the organ-like swells are reminiscent of the folk song "As She Moved Through The Fair." While on the final "O Cruor Sanguinis" she conjures a near metal riff and her wah-wahed violin lends a distinctly rocky air.

Bianco provides further variety through overdubbing piano on "Placement And Resolve" and a fast walking bass line, perhaps keyboard derived, on "Cherubim's Sword." However such additions tend to obscure rather than enhance. Certainly the best of the joint improvs is the more abstract and conversational "Grace," the longest piece at 26-minutes. Here, Brackenbury at times recalls Billy Bang's irrepressible bounce until she moves into thorny, less consonant bowing and percussive plucking, while Bianco sets his initial bursts amid silence, before laying down a characteristic chattering snare commentary.

While the second disc is perhaps less successful, the first is often transcendental. Brackenbury and Bianco forthrightly stake their claim to a place in a select gathering.

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