Two Voices In The Desert

Chronique

Clarinetist Perry Robinson and pianist Burton Greene both have well-established '60s New York free jazz bonafides; Robinson for his work on legendary bassist Henry Grime's THE CALL on ESP, and Greene for his ESP solo album and accompanying the wild singer Patty Waters on her famous LPs. From ESP-Disk to John Zorn's Tzadik pretty much tracks the journey of avant-garde music in the new millennium so its not that surprising to find the two veterans emerging on the Jewish-centric label for TEO VOICES IN THE DESERT, a spare yet accessible set of klezmer-flavored duets and improvisations. And as is usually the case with the Zorn imprint, old avant-gardists (most recently the pianist Borah Bergman) are late beneficiaries of the most quality production of their careers. Who knew that Burton Greene had such a fine touch, for one? And Robinson's quirkiness, grit, and playfulness--much like old-school klezmer players, as a matter of fact--are given full rein.

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