boca negraInstrumental prowess can sometimes seem self-defeating in contemporary music. Time after time, technique developed over years of painstaking practice is put to service in music that only serves to lay bare players' tragic lack of imagination, or is reduced to a mechanical running through of the musician's 'bag of tricks', impressive only to aficionados of the specific instrument. This is music as spectacle, and the artistry on display often has more in common with the circus side show, the sword swallower or the geek, than anything that might be described as music. One feat of wonder displayed by Chad Taylor, one half of the Chicago Underground Duo, seems on paper as if it could be booked into the big top without delay. Taylor plays drums and vibraphone simultaniously during the duo's cover of Ornette Coleman's 'Broken Shadows'. As implausible as it may sound the results are quite breathtakingly beautiful. Rob Mazurek's delicate cornet playing adds subtle shading and commentary alongside his partner's sizzling, tumbling drums and austere vibraphone melodies. Coleman's composition is stripped to a melodic shadow, while Taylor's polyrhythmic attack takes centre stage. Other instrumental parts float in the listener's imagination, filling in the spaces outlined by the Duo's nimble playing. That both halves of The Chicago Underground Duo are master's of their chosen instruments is almost irrelevant to the music here. There is a great deal of jaw dropping drumming and superb cornet playing on this disc, but tracks such as 'Hermeto', where the main focus is on luminous-sounding keyboards and electronic processing are just as fine as the real-time-sounding interplay on 'Green Ants'. 'Confliction' begins with some purposefully heavy handed piano sounds and Mazurek gets the chance to play some beautiful free form cornet before the bass and drums drop in. This music is rooted in the jazz tradition, but doesn't feel constrained by conventions of expectations that the genre might imply. The production is warm and inviting, making even the wilder segments of playing seem almost soothing. Chicago Underground Duo have created music that just happens to be innovative, stylish and often beautiful. What more can be asked? -- Nick Ilott
:: Chicago Underground Duo/ Boca Negra -- Thrill Jockey/Rough Trade.
