This date pairs drummer and composer
Bobby Previte in an outstanding duo session with guitarist
Marc Ducret, a collaborator in
Previte's
Latin for Travelers avant surf, fusion outfit. Drawing on a repertoire of advanced techniques, the two create furious sounds, burning free-form funk and quiet, strangely delicate conversations. This music recasts itself with each hearing. Initially sounding like snippets and free-form jams, further attention reveals an absorbing, cohesive cycle of performances. At their heart is the state-of-the-drum work of
Previte. He is captured with absolute clarity, the tension and tuning of the drum heads and melodic slash of the cymbals audible down to the finest detail. Blending in-the-pocket grooves and free pulse abandon, the drummer feeds, anticipates, and integrates with his collaborator's extended vocabulary of unorthodox virtuosity that ranges from primitive scraping sounds to mutated
Pat Martino runs. As with
Previte, the recording fully renders the subtlety and richness of
Ducret's playing. With the guitarist playing a variety of axes and
Previte doubling on keyboards, these performances amount to something more than duets, especially when
Previte splits himself between drums and keyboards in real time. Interactive, electronic processing also that lets the pair effectively be joined -- without overdubbing -- by a virtual pianist or bassist. At this point,
Previte has transcended his association with New York's downtown scene to emerge as a leader and innovator of the broader avant-garde. As with true innovators,
Previte draws on the tradition and transforms it. Here it's a tradition that includes
Ornette Coleman's
Prime Time,
Funkadelic, and
Adrian Belew-era
King Crimson. Those reference points don't explain the music on
In the Grass. They simply suggest some of what's behind
Ducret and
Previte on the trails they are blazing on these intense, uncompromising performances.