Two Pianos, One Vast Conversation
Forty-seven minutes of Barry Guy's orchestra colliding with two of Europe's most fearless pianists.
Two pianos come in hard and fast, then the London Jazz Composers Orchestra swells underneath them like weather rolling across a field. This is free-leaning large-ensemble writing, dense and percussive, with Pierre Favre's drums cracking through the middle. The piece runs about forty-seven minutes as a single composition, so you settle in rather than dip in and out. Irène Schweizer and Marilyn Crispell trade phrases with real aggression, and the orchestra keeps pushing back against them.
As a listening experience it asks for patience and rewards it. Some stretches feel like controlled chaos, others open into lovely, spacious passages where the ensemble breathes together. The writing is bold rather than polished, and that roughness is part of the appeal. Guy is clearly interested in what happens when large forces meet small, sharp voices, and the pianists are the right people to bring that tension out.
It was recorded in Zürich in December 1995 and released by Intakt Records in 1998. Reviewers have been generous: The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings gave it four stars and called it one of the most powerful Crispell and Schweizer collaborations, and AllMusic reviewer Steve Loewy said the pianists' performances were the highlight. If you already know the London Jazz Composers Orchestra, this is a strong entry. If you are new to Guy, start elsewhere and come to this one once you are comfortable with his more abstract writing.
