Meditative moods from the Chicago duo of bassist Josh Abrams and percussionist Chad Taylor. With Taylor on mbira and Abrams on guimbri, instruments from diverse African states, finding a new pairing that moves past world music and jazz into something new, to do with dance, meditation, listening and convergence. Natural Information Society's Abrams has been using the guimbri, a lute-style bass, for years, but it's rarely sounded better than it does here, alongside Taylor's resonant mbira. Taylor was drawn to the mbira as a "spiritual instrument" after hearing it used on a Pharoah Sanders album, his deep connection with it shines here as it takes center stage, underpinned by Abrams deep plucks.
This isn't straightforward jazz by any means, operating in a spiritual mode not a million miles from Sanders (or indeed Alice Coltrane) that defies categorization. It's a pleasure to hear the two players go head to head like this - the premise is simple but the results are ineffably beautiful.