Jeong/Bisio Duo : Morning Bells Whistle Bright

     The Jeong/Bisio Duo is pianist Eunhye Jeong on piano and Michael Bisio on bass. For their debut release, Morning Bells Whistle Bright, the pair is joined on several tracks by Joe McPhee on tenor saxophone and Jay Rosen on drums. On the first four tracks, the intrepid duo demonstrates their intense connection, achieved after only one previous duet concert. Joe McPhee was at the show. His tenor powers Drinking Galactic Water with his commanding presence and deep experience with totally improvised music. The sensitive Rosen introduces Morning Bells Whistle Bright with a bright wash of cymbals, exquisitely captured by Jim Clouse at his Park West Studio in Brooklyn. The moods of this improvising assembly of musicians range from peaceful to jittery. The back cover reads that all tracks “collectively composed spontaneously by the musicians,” and sometimes it can be hard to believe. For one example, on the second half of Morning Bells Whistle Bright, the quartet finds a groove and sticks with it. McPhee, taking his saxophone up into the stratosphere and down to the deep bottom, duels with an unperturbed Jeong on Disclosure. It’s usually the case that it isn’t very helpful to describe albums like Morning Bells Whistle Bright with any kind of description of what the musicians seem to be doing. Although utterly serious, there is a light-hearted and playful approach by the Jeong/Bisio Duo and friends that makes this a bracingly enjoyable (and relatively long) listening experience. Definitely recommended. 
    The storied ESP-Disk’ label has had a few slogans since it was started in 1963, including “you never heard such sounds in your life” and “the artists alone decide what you will hear,” but I think the latest is the best: “If you don’t like ESP-Disk’s releases, that’s your fault.” 

ESP-Disk’ ESP5095; Eunhye Jeong (p, exc on 9) Michael Bisio (b exc on 8) Joe McPhee (ts on 5-7, 10) Jay Rosen (d on 5-10); Brooklyn, NY, March 8, 2023; 1.Pont Expands to World/ 2.And Then She Was There/ 3.Dusts into Substantiality/ 4.Points Multiply Constant Beauty/ 5.Drinking Galactic Water/ 6.Morning Bells Whistle Bright/ 7.Disclosure/ 8.Jaybird/ 9.Superpreternatural/ 10.Coda for Tomorrow; 73:30. espdisk.com