On Two, Denson teams up with Claudio Puntin, who mixes clarinet, bass clarinet, analog preparations (read “electronic doodles”) and tarcas with Denson’s bowing and plucks. Some of the pieces, such as “You Don’t Say,” “First Take-Scanning Souls” and “A Sunday Afternoon…” have a bluesy and gentle lyricism that is most alluring. Others such as “Frozen Oscillations” and “Black Lilies” mix electronic and eerie musings/wizardry to moody reed sounds, with “Un Sueno Distante” sounding like Peruvian pan pipes. A mix of sublime with jagged edges.
A collection of spirituals and hymns are featured Denson and pianist Joshua White. The readings range from takes of “I’ll Fly Away” that go from ragtime to Monk to stride to a Cecil Taylor-influenced “Just As I Am.” A joyfully elegiac “Lord, I Want to Be A Christian” and a spirit filler bopper like “When the Saints Go Marching In” are well balanced by reflective and ruminating pieces such as “In the Garden” and “What A Friend We Have in Jesus” with Denson soloing on “Down at the Cross” and “Crying in the Chapel” like he means it. Get these guys into our 11:00 am service!
pfMENTUM Records
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