The Village Vanguard will never be mistaken for anyone’s back porch, but if you kept your eyes closed when the guitar and bass duo of Bill Frisell & Thomas Morgan took the stage at the venerable New York nightspot in March 2016, you might have felt yourself transported to a backyard space somewhere out of the city. ECM Records recorded the gig, and the acclaimed Small Town came out the following year. Now comes Epistrophy with another helping of intimate duets from the same week. A wide range of songs, including Kern-Hammerstein’s seldom played All in Fun, two Thelonious Monk compositions and the Fifties pop classic Save the Last Dance For Me, by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, gives the pair plenty of opportunities to commune with the music and support one another at length. A friendly and relaxed vibe permeates the performances, as the instrumental focus changes almost imperceptibly between Frisell’s gently floating electric guitar and Morgan’s lyrical bass. The two men were first heard on record together on Paul Motian’s 2010 release The Windmills Of Your Mind, and Morgan appeared on Frisell’s When You Wish Upon A Star in 2015. Obviously, they’ve established considerable rapport in those encounters, as demonstrated time and again throughout the nearly 70 minutes of Epistrophy. Particular high points include Motian’s Mumbo Jumbo, a tricky number first heard on a live 1990 recording, also at the Vanguard, by a trio of Motian, Geri Allen and Charlie Haden, Billy Strayhorn’s ever-beautiful Lush Life, a playful dissection of Monk’s theme song, Epistrophy, and the luminous closer, David Mann and Bob Hilliard’s perennial favorite In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning. Epistrophy is a truly lovely collection showcasing the manifold delights of the Frisell and Morgan pairing. Don’t miss it.
ECM 2626; Bill Frisell (g) Thomas Morgan (b); NYC, March 2016; All in Fun/ Wildwood Flower; Save the Last Dance For Me/ Mumbo Jumbo/ You Only Live Twice/ Lush Life/ Epistrophy/ Pannonica/ Red River Valley/ In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning; 69:12. www.ecmrecords.com
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