The New Album By John Abercrombie & Joe Beck May Be Titled Coincidence But Their Masterful Work Is Not

North Dartmouth, MA (Top40 Charts/ Whaling City Sound) - Joe Beck and John Abercrombie have made a recording together. It may sound rather simple, like just another jazz record by accomplished musicians. The album is called, interestingly, Coincidence. But it's much more than that. In fact, is it possible to overstate the importance of such a collaboration between players of such enormous stature?

Not likely. In addition to being two of jazz guitar's most luminous talents, Beck and Abercrombie have played with, well, all of jazz guitar's other luminaries: Larry Coryell, John Scofield, Ralph Towner and Gabor Szabo, not to mention Mick Goodrick, John Basile, and Attila Zoller. The list is essentially a "Who's Who" in jazz guitar, a list led by Beck and Abercrombie themselves.

OK, so it sounds good on paper. But does the session come through on its potential? Indubitably. Coincidence is a remarkable work of breadth and passion from the heart of two of its most believable players. As is characteristic of both John and Joe, the material features one foot in tradition and one foot in exploration and experimentation. Both players naturally seek out avenues of exotic, guitaristic expression and the searching really pays off.

Coincidence is a diverse program of standards, blues numbers and originals. For example, John Carisi's "Israel" is a perfect crystallization of the Beck/Abercrombie collaborative formula. It begins with some unison playing, veers off into individual soloing, then ventures into point, counterpoint solo technique before winding down.

There's excellent energy, creative ideas, and, of course, flawless technique through the entire record. A loose rendition of Ornette Coleman's "The Turnaround" elicits some inspired innovations, as does a bristling but tactile version of Miles' "All Blues." Abercrombie's "Vingt-six" and "Just a Waltz" emphasize his effective way with a ballad, while Beck's "Mikey Likes It,"
on the other hand, boasts a few tasty riffs to go along with its abstract rock energy.

When all is "said" and done - the disc ends with an eight-minute go at Mercer Ellington's composition "Things Ain't What They Used to Be" - Coincidence is much more than its title suggests. It's a dramatic and quite deliberate work of two brilliant guitarists. More than a coincidental session, it's an appointment of the instrument's most innovative artists, Whaling City Sound's most essential and important release to date, and a record you should listen to right here, and right now.