Guitar duets should all be precious as this one from
Bireli Lagrene and
Sylvain Luc, as they mutually share musical thoughts, feelings, and honest emotions via a stack of familiar jazz standards. As equally talented players whose virtuosity is not staggeringly overwhelming, these two present a good deal of symmetry and balance, neither dominating the other. Unless you are personally familiar with the stylistic differences of the gypsy driven
Lagrene or more contemporary
Luc, it's likely their pure sound rather than technique sets them apart.
Luc plays Godin guitar, while
Lagrene prefers a Barault model, both relatively unamplified or processed, lending to the organic feel of these standards everybody knows. A resonant and languid version of "Summertime" is quite differently rendered in ringing. solemn, patient tones, with no worries or rushed-through cadences, but a bit of speedy soloing. The quick counterpoint and unison playing during "So What" lend toward mixed messages, but within a straight bop framework.
Chick Corea's "Spain" and "Got a Match" give the two a chance to show off a bit, not so much on the former icon of contemporary repertoire as much as the latter track, which lets them charge ahead full steam in flurries of sixteenth and thirty-second notes. Steady tunes such as "Wave," "My One & Only Love," and "Someday My Prince Will Come" are more liquid and flowing, while the popping, crackling chords setting up "On Green Dolphin Street" and the percussive improv "Interlude" proved stellar examples of
Lagrene and
Luc's brilliance. Two pop tunes are included -- a gypsy bop take of James Taylor's "On the Fourth of July," and the old Four Seasons hit "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" in a tango mode. Overall, this is a solid recording that should please fans of these two great musicians, not a stunning or risk-free effort, but somewhere satisfyingly in the middle. ~ Michael G. Nastos