CD

Presented as a “single, stream-of-consciousness listening experience,” Duet finds Flecktones/Dave Matthews Band saxophonist Jeff Coffin and Aquarium Rescue Unit drummer Jeff Sipe engaging in a beautifully textured, free-form session using horns, drums, mallets, bells, gongs—anything and everything. Sipe’s rolling brushwork on “Quiet Arrival” is a thing of beauty, and on “From East to West” the drummer whips up a bouncy, desert-caravan beat with his bare hands, throwing in some lightning-quick snares-off flourishes that sound like he’s playing tablas. Avoiding the funky fusion they’re occasionally known for, Duet allows us to eavesdrop on a conversation between two talented old friends. www.compassrecords.com

Ilya Stemkovsky