With Keeping Company, Bill Laurance and Michael League release their second set of duo pieces, centred on Laurance’s piano and on League’s fretless bass and oud.

Coming hot on the heels, of Where You Wish You Were, their acclaimed 2023 record, the album explores the opposite end of the sonic spectrum to Snarky Puppy, the band which the two players are best known for being a part of.

Whereas Snarky is a nineteen-piece fusion machine dealing in groove and big arrangements, Laurance and League explore subtler sound worlds in their duo, a place where they can explore the possibilities opened up by the duo format, stripping things back to create new territory and space. Sometimes they lean into the classical territory that Laurance has explored on his own, as well as playing with a range of jazz influences and bringing in a cross-cultural element through the distinctive tonalities of the oud.

This Middle Eastern lute-like instrument provides a distinct colour and set of sonic implications on the tracks where League deploys it – notably the concise and beautiful opener Katerina, Clay, and their interpretation of the traditional piece Iki Keklic, Bir Kayada, which closes out the album, and is given an atmospheric lift by the inclusion of League’s hushed wordless vocals.

The choice of their instruments for the record also reflects desire to create intimate, evocative and highly organic pieces. Laurance here sticks with the piano, sometimes with light preparation of the strings as opposed to playing electric keyboards, which he often uses in other projects. League plays a fretless bass with great dexterity and at times lends a percussive element to proceedings on tracks such as Yours.

Escher sees Laurance’s playing sitting somewhere between jazz and classical forms as his melodies weave and shift while League’s bass is behind him adding additional depth to the sound.

The album feels like a conversation. Both players take the lead at different points before switching. It’s a true partnership clearly built on years of friendship and musical appreciation for each other, with a sense of spontaneity and genuine interplay at work throughout.

Although the record explores similar sonic territories to Where You Wish You Were, the duo clearly has a whole sack full of ideas and melodic forms that they can pull from it.

Laurance and League seem in their element in this format. The stripped back setting allows each instrumentalist to lead before falling back into a supporting role. This contemplative yet engaging set of duos cuts that cross the boundaries between jazz, classical music and Eastern forms. Highly recommended.

from https://ukjazznews.com