Things we like: Senso di Voce, Sylvie Courvoisier/Wadada Leo Smith, Satoko Fujii/Natsuki Tamura

Sylvie Courvoisier and Wadada Leo Smith. Copyright Ogata Photo.

A handful of duos this month. 

Senso di Voce is the duo of Turkish-born, Austin-based vocalist/multi-instrumentalist (tremelo harmonica, bass harmonica, and harmonium) Esin Gunduz and upstate New York-based oboist Megan Kyle. Their sound, replete with vibrations animated by breath, covers a full spectrum of moods and emotions. Their new album, through itself, on Ingebrigt Haker Flaten's Sonic Transmissions label, has its origins in a 2021 grant from Chamber Music America that funded Esin's four-part composition which forms the core of this album, and is bookended by two live improvisations from their 2024 tour. Esin's work is inspired by the writings of the Andalusian Sufi mystic and philosopher Ibn Arabi, whose work has had wide influence on Islamic thought. (I am currently online stalking Toshihiko Izutsu's Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts on the composer's recommendation.)

"Selam" introduces the sonic palette and establishes a theme of longing ("yearning to become one with"). Gunduz demonstrates impressive control of her voice, and Kyle matches it with bent notes and human-sounding tonalities. "Everything is alive" opens with ululations over droning harmonium, with Kyle's lower-pitched English horn functioning as an undertone as the musicians invoke "the life force inside all existent things." "Perplexity" employs negative space, shifting dynamics, and percussive sounds to effectively depict "the state of bewilderment/non-dual awareness." "Oneness" blends overtone-rich sounds from oboe and bass harmonica in its rendering of "the state of union/higher state of consciousness." The opening and closing improvisations further explore this sound world. With through itself, Senso di Voce has created an immersive sound experience that rewards repeated listening and provides a fitting background for needed contemplation.

Angel Falls, a collaboration between Swiss-born, Brooklyn based pianist-composer Sylvie Courvoisier and AACM elder/master trumpeter-composer Wadada Leo Smith, out October 3 on Intakt, grew out of earlier encounters between the two in larger ensembles that include an as-yet-unreleased trio recording with drummer Marcus Gilmore and Courvoisier's sextet recording Chimaera. Smith has previously recorded in piano duos with Vijay Iyer, John Tilbury, Angelica Sanchez, and Amina Claudine Myers. Both musicians are equally well versed in chamber music and jazz forms and processes; it was Courvoisier's idea that all the compositions on this album should be spontaneous. The pieces were played in the order in which they appear on the disc, without edits, and mixed the same day.

Wadada -- Anthony Braxton's one time trumpet foil, who came to his greatness as a composer in his maturity with 2012's Ten Freedom Summers -- has a singular voice on his horn, distinguished by a burnished tone, unrushed attack, and the ever-present influences of blues, Ornette Coleman, and Miles Davis (particularly when employing a mute). Courvoisier combines formidable technique with a capacity for deep listening and empathetic responding, to include spontaneously applying objects to the piano's strings. Their improvised dialogues are audibly guided by intention and purpose, and sound as though they could have been scored. A memorable meeting of minds between two major artists.

Speaking of piano-trumpet duos, on Ki, the tenth duo outing for pianist-composer Satoko Fujii and her husband, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, out September 19 on Fujii's Libra label, I was pleasantly surprised to find an oasis of calm in which to take refuge from our tense historical moment. The seven Tamura compositions here share the quiet lyricism of his ensemble Gato Libre, and the trumpeter says his intention was to create an atmosphere of "standing dignified in clear air." Fujii found it challenging to play with more silence and space than she usually employs, but her composition "Dan's Oceanside Listening Post" inhabits the same sonic terrain as the rest of the album. CDs are available via Libra's website; downloads via Bandcamp.