Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Jeb Bishop, Pandelis Karayorgis, Damon Smith: Duals

Jeb Bishop, Pandelis Karayorgis, Damon Smith: Duals

By Mark Corroto
February 19, 2023
View read count

Jeb Bishop, Pandelis Karayorgis, Damon Smith: Duals

The Jeopardy answer is "three to the power of 2." If you buzzed in fast enough with "what is the album Duals"? You would be correct. The three musicians, trombonist

Jeb Bishop

trombone

" data-original-title="" title="">Jeb Bishop, bassist

Damon Smith

bass, acoustic
b.1972

" data-original-title="" title="">Damon Smith, and pianist

" data-original-title="" title="">Pandelis Karayorgis recorded these 33 duos in Boston between the fall of 2021 and the summer of 2022. While we promised there would be no math, the equation 'three to the power of 2' actually equals three separate discs each with duo combinations of trombone-bass, piano-bass, and piano-trombone.

Disc one features the collaboration between Bishop's trombone and Smith's bass. The pair have recorded together in a free improvisation quartet with cornetist

Dan Clucas

cornet

" data-original-title="" title="">Dan Clucas and drummer

Matt Crane

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Matt Crane, plus JeJaWeDa, another quartet with drummer

Weasel Walter

drums
b.1972

" data-original-title="" title="">Weasel Walter and vocalist

Jaap Blonk

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Jaap Blonk. Here they deliver nine improvised tracks. The music ranges from the raucous to the euphonious. Both musicians have the skills to instigate turbulence or deliver sounds in sotto voce. Together they find a balance with Bishop popping and growling on "Blecher" while Smith applies objects to his strings. A muted trombone "Pestalozzi" draws out Smith's bowed explorations of varying pitches and rumbles. More objects are thwacked on "School Device" as Smith manhandles his tone generating bass and Bishop translates his trombone's bluesy dialect.

The transition to piano and bass duets is also a change in style. Smith is a member of of the Pandelis Karayorgis Trio and also his Double Trio. The improvised music of disc one gives way to twelve composed tracks split between Smith and Karayorgis. Composed that is until the musicians blast off into the stratosphere of "Pennant" or chase each other randomly down the slippery slopes of "Whistles" where their entropy finds its own orderliness. Karayorgis' compositions are flavored with his fondness for the music of

Thelonious Monk

piano
1917 - 1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Thelonious Monk and Smith's writing points more towards chaos. Yet, his maelstrom must be classified as chamber turbulence of the finest sort.

Finally, the duo between Bishop and Karayorgis is a mixture of composed and improvised pieces. Both musicians are members of The Whammies, an ensemble dedicated to the music of

Steve Lacy

saxophone, soprano
1934 - 2004

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Lacy and also the avant big band Bathysphere. Their familiarity with each other's approach is quite apparent on the twelve tracks. The composed pieces are well, quite composed. Much like chamber music "Three," "Never Ending," and the beautifully sober "Ice" find the pair performing in a sympathetic unison. Bishop has the ability to transform his trombone into the most gentle instrument when he is required to accompany the hushed tones of Karayorgis. The hush is followed by the pianist's left hand stomp and the bleat of bone-on-keys rumble of "Roll PK" or the machine-like redundancy of "Razorlip."

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

CD1: Caltrop; Parsnip; Protocol; Photo Op; Blecher; Uni Device; Wageningen; Pestalozzi; School Device; CD2: Pennant; Ravine; Whistles; Lifgatowy; Procession; Entanglement; Extruded; Undertow; Mr Cook; Weft; Something Stirring Underfoot; Hommage; CD3: Scry; Slack Tide; Roil JB; Ledger; Never Ending; Redarrow; Razorlip; Summer; Ledge; Three; Ice; Roil PK.

Personnel

Jeb Bishop

trombone

Damon Smith

bass, acoustic

Pandelis Karayorgis

piano

Album information

Title: Duals | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Driff Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Flock of Birds
< Previous

Bassist Francisco Fattoruso, Guitari...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.