| In contrast to the trio disc, which frequently gallops like a horse race in
a blur of notes, the duo session between DeChellis and guitarist Philip
Tomasic inches forward at a glacial pace, with the two improvising as if
they were interconnected parts of a single instrumentalist. Not that that's
surprising. The two have frequently played together over the years in Boston
and New York.
Practitioner of the glistening held note and the fade to black pregnant
pause, Tomasic introduces an Americana cast to his playing unlike more
mechanized European guitar torturers. In fact, there are times when his
repeated, twangy bass notes recall tuff rock guitarist Dwayne Eddy.
DeChellis often responds in kind, with an assembly line of note clusters at
one junction, or a dagger's jab into heart of the improvisation at another.
Favoring dark, left-handed keyboard thrusts to keep momentum, sometimes he
and the guitarist will play alternately single or duple note passages. While
many of the opposing tones may sound unconnected, they reveal a close-knit
companionship when they do meet.
-- Ken Waxman, Jazz Weekly.com |