“So magical and breathtaking that a patient and open-eared listener should find it…irresistible” - PopMatters
The songs here include the very first notes Mary and I ever played together as we began our musical conversation at my home studio in the summer of 2011. The album was recorded over the course of several sessions during which we worked on compositions each of us had brought to the occasion. At each session, we decided to begin by warming up with a few improvisations, or spontaneous compositions, as I like to think of them. This album is comprised entirely of those improvisations…every note of them, unedited. For a different angle on our duo, we have also released a collection of those “previously composed” pieces (Emerge).
Secret Keeper
MARY HALVORSON · guitar
STEPHAN CRUMP · acoustic bass
“cinematic soundscapes that weave melodies and textures like they were strands of colored cloth…what emerges is a shimmering surface of sound”
PopMatters
“a daring leap of faith”
PopMatters
“so magical and breathtaking that a patient and open-eared listener should find it…irresistible”
PopMatters
“almost unbelievable communication”
PopMatters
“sounds like a delicate and carefully planned set of miniature symphonies that invite the listener in even though they sound like intimate whispers”
PopMatters
“strangely sensuous chamber music”
Neue Zürcher Zeitung
“Best Albums of 2013″
Jazzthetik
“sounds like a delicate and carefully planned set of miniature symphonies that invite the listener in even though they sound like intimate whispers”
PopMatters
“the choreography is masterful…the short tracks, corralled into three sections, are as spacious and subtle and sensitive as Beyond the Missouri Sky, the duo album released a decade and a half ago by Pat Metheny and Charlie Haden – but bent magnificently out of shape” ****
JazzWise
“almost miraculous”
El País
“a power of an empathetic two to suggest a larger, third entity underscores the enlightened free-play between rugged bassist Stephan Crump and innovative guitarist Mary Halvorson” ****
Downbeat
“the sound of two musical personalities getting to know each other…an almost voyeuristic pleasure”
The Wire
“the journey is rewarding”
JazzTimes
“the players take their time and never lapse into anything predictable”
JazzTimes