Jason Bivins and Ian Davis - Benthic
(Family Vineyard)
Percussionist Davis and guitarist Bivins collaborate on nine improvisational duets on Benthic. Their improvisational interplay is laudable; it seems as though the two have enough of a musical history together that they can easily build on one another's ideas and anticipate the actions that will subsequently be taken. Bivins often appears to lead the direction of the music, his clean and round guitar tone far above (almost to a fault) Davis' drums. Bivins proves to be a man of ample versatility and wide-ranging skill, and though there's little in his playing that will cause seasoned listeners of improv and experimental guitar work to soil their pants, his work is, across the board, solid. He creates bubbles of shiny sound, whirling tempests, and even lets loose with some competent shredding at times, but never blasts off to a space all his own. Davis' strength seems to be the augmentation of Bivins' music with accents and complements. Though always fitting and easily amassed into the fray, Davis' work seems to hone in on one technique or sound and entrench itself fairly firmly there. His playing is equally as solid as Bivins as far as technique is concerned, but would be better were he to match Bivins' varied approaches or surpass his work in the realm of a more individual style. Both men surely attack their instruments in ways that are far beyond what's taught in traditional lessons, but neither make my jaw drop appreciably, and the resulting work is Benthic, a good, though ultimately inconspicuous, album of fairly mild-mannered, well-behaved improvisation.
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