Tyshawn Sorey & Marilyn Crispell: The Adornment Of Time

Tyshawn Sorey & Marilyn Crispell approach one another warily and respectfully on their perfectly poised duo release The Adornment Of Time. As Sorey writes, this 65 minute performance at The Kitchen in New York “represents the culmination of the several journeys” that the pair have made together since their first encounter at the Creative Music Studio in 2014. Pianist Crispell is well regarded among creative musicians for, in Sorey’s words, “her mindful decision making, intense listening, and the profound clarity” of her creative responses. For his part, Sorey has been attracting a lot of attention for his composing as well as his exquisite percussion work. There’s a spacious luminosity to this extended improvisation. As you would expect, the pair explores a broad range of instrumental colors and tempos. Particularly fine passages include Crispell’s rhapsodic interlude at around the 18-minute mark, the pair’s delicate call and response around 23 minutes into the piece after a minute or so of silence, the invigorating appearance of tuned bells at the half-way point, a deliciously intense passage in the second half of the piece, some creaky sounds from inside the piano, and the magnificent rave-up that brings things to a close. Absolutely recommended. And is there a better title for creative improvisation than The Adornment Of Time?
Pi Recordings PI83; Marilyn Crispell (p) Tyshawn Sorey (d, perc); NYC, October 21, 2018; The Adornment of Time; 64:57. pirecordings.com