Two Masters, One Microphone, No Safety Net
Pass and Pedersen strip jazz down to its bones, and it holds up just fine.
There is a particular kind of confidence required to make a duo album with no rhythm section, no piano, no safety net — just guitar and bass. Joe Pass had that confidence in abundance by 1982, and so did Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, the Danish bassist who was already one of the most in-demand players in the world. Eximious (1982) is the record they made together, and it works because both men are genuinely comfortable playing wide open spaces without filling every single one of them.
Pass built his reputation on solo guitar work and his long association with Oscar Peterson, but this setting asks something slightly different from him. He has to be melodist and accompanist at once, and he handles the balance well. Pedersen, meanwhile, is not just keeping time — he is soloing, comping, pushing back. The interplay is the point. You can hear them listening to each other, which sounds obvious, but a lot of duo recordings feel more like two people taking turns than actually conversing. This one mostly avoids that trap.
The title itself — eximious means distinguished or eminent — is a slightly unusual word choice, and you could argue it sets expectations a little high. This is not a record that reinvents anything. It is a very well-executed conversation between two skilled players who happen to have great chemistry. If you already like Pass's guitar work, this is a genuinely enjoyable angle on it. If you are new to him, something like his solo recordings might be a better entry point. But for anyone who wants to hear what a guitar and bass can do with room to breathe, this album makes a solid case.
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