| These longtime collaborators first worked together 15 years ago while still in high school, and have since performed together hundreds of times in a variety of ensembles. "I feel like I can anticipate what Tomas is going to play," says Bynum of their relationship in the liner notes, "yet I'm continually surprised and delighted and inspired by what he does." The nine tracks on True Events, a mix of pre-conceived elements and spontaneous improvisation, also take their inspiration from Anthony Braxton's principles of language improvisation, as well as the work of musicians such as Alan Dawson, Talib Kweli and Wayne Shorter.
"In the four decades since John Coltrane went head-to-head with Rashied Ali on Interstellar Space, the sax-drums duet has become a veritable subgenre of jazz. But the idiom’s other prestige ax, the trumpet, hasn’t had nearly as much time alone with the trap set. Given the recent efforts of brass players such as Axel Dörner, Greg Kelley and Peter Evans to expand the instrument’s timbral palette, the time seems ripe for the horn to make its mark in the intimate duet format. Fellow searcher Taylor Ho Bynum is just the man for the job." — Hank Shteamer, Time Out New York
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