Lou Reed once wrote that “you can’t beat 2 guitars, bass, drum,” a sentiment that Joel Harrison & Anthony Pirog take to heart for The Great Mirage. Harrison and Pirog wield a variety of electric and acoustic guitars, plus the occasional electric piano, mellotron, synthesizers and more. The supple and ultra-dynamic rhythm team of Stephen Crump on electric bass and Allison Miller on drums and synth is supplemented on one track by Bruce Katz on Hammond organ. It all makes for a delicious stew of rock and jazz fusion, with instrumentation derived from the rock side of things, and the open-ended approach of dedicated improvisers. Except for Keith Jarrett’s Mortgage on My Soul, all the pieces are collaborations by the guitarists. The Jarrett piece, from his 1971 Atlantic album Birth, gets a surprisingly raging treatment, complete with a thumping big beat laid down by Miller, and genuine fuzz bass from Crump. Influenced by everything including the blues, surf music, hard rock, and much more, Harrison and Pirog seem to be having plenty of fun with this project. Highlights include the soothingly atmospheric Desert Solitaire, the slowly building turmoil of It Slipped Through My Fingers, the elegant I’ll See You in the Shining World, the psychedelic rave-up of East Hurley, and the fiery closer Buffalo Heart. The Great Mirage is a winner from start to finish. Happily recommended.
AGS Recordings ABSR-004; Joel Harrison (electric & acoustic guitars, toy piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Tibetan bowls, mellotron) Anthony Pirog (electric & acoustic guitars, synthesizers) Stephan Crump (electric bass guitar) Allison Miller (drums, Moog synthesizer) Bruce Katz (Hammond B-3 org on *); Hurley, NY, May 21-23, 2022; The Great Mirage/ Critical Conversation/ There's Never Enough Time/ Mortgage on My Soul/ Desert Solitaire/ It Slipped Through My Fingers/ Last Rose of Summer/ I'll See You in the Shining World/ East Hurley/ Clarksdale*/ Buffalo Heart; 50:25. agsrecordings.bandcamp.com
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