The pairing of trumpeter/composer Ambrose Akinmusire and guitarist/composer Mary Halvorson seems almost pre-destined. They are two of our most inventive sonic seekers. Indeed, they have been playing together periodically since 2009 in off-the-cuff sessions at Halvorson’s Brooklyn apartment. Their ease of communication and rapport developed over many years allows both, together, to stretch to their limits, knowing the other will respond in kind. As Akinmusire has said, “It’s rare to find an improviser that all goes and nothing has to go at all. It’s rare to feel like you don’t have to do anything, and you can do anything. And that’s what I love about playing with Mary.”More than anything else, it is this innate, telepathic ability to anticipate and react to each other that makes their first duo record together, Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings (Nonesuch, 2026) so remarkable.
Each artist’s distinctive style on their respective instrument is unencumbered on Slo-Mo. Yet, there is also a new facet at play here for Akinmusire. After long observing the use of pedals by Halvorson, Bill Frisell, and others, the trumpeter has finally started using pedal effects himself. Halvorson, who had shortly before their recording date obtained an updated model of the Line 6, passed an older one to Akinmusire. He was more than willing to try the delay effects. As Halvorson commented, “I gave him [the pedal] five minutes before the rehearsal and was amazed how quickly he was able to do incredible shit on it…in literally five minutes.” With it, Akinmusire emulated Halvorson’s approach of playing a line, reacting to it, and then reacting again. Inevitably, that mirroring of approaches enters into their duo dialogue as well.
For the album, both artists each penned four compositions, and one is fully collaboratively written. All present otherworldly soundscapes, beginning with the melancholic “Prelude in the Ash.” For it, Akinmusire begins with a mournful reveille, one more likely to induce stupor than waking. But after a minute, he reaches a stratospherically high note, cueing Halvorson’s entry. She sets a circular pattern in motion, initially simple, but bent and sculpted as it evolves.
“Vivid” stands in contrast to “Prelude in the Ash” with Halvorson striking her chords lustily while the trumpeter issues a scream that loops back on itself a couple of times. The guitarist shifts to a stream of downward cascading notes, akin to a falling stream of water, or perhaps even the downwardly spiraling twisted theme from The Twilight Zone. The piece then turns more spacious, more abstract, but still very much a conversation between artists pushing each other into another realm.
“Nice to Meet You Again For the First Time” is filled with start-stop sequences, seemingly an awkward conversation full of short questions and abrupt answers. Akinmusire squeezes out microtonal notes that span the entire range of registers in his unfurling swiggles, burps, and blaring bursts. “Soundcheck” unfolds with more atmospherics, courtesy of Halvorson. Akinmusire positions himself more as a follower here, responding to whatever new avenue opens up, before he caps the piece aggressively. “Watersmoke” is even more hypnotic with the trumpeter’s elongated lines and Halvorson’s sputtering, percussive-like rattling beneath. The aching tone of his horn that concludes the piece is a marvel in itself. “Tangled Pretty” bears similarity to “Soundcheck” except that the trumpeter moves from sustained notes to bursts in unexpected ways, hitting some goosebump-inducing high notes. It well evokes the feelings one gets while looking at the impressionistic painting that adorns the album cover. The longer one stares at it, the more a different picture starts to emerge.
“Ofo,” another trance-like piece, would provide a nice soundtrack for a planetarium as one views the cosmos. Akinmusire’s fluttering technique, combined with his impressive range, dazzles atop Halvorson’s own logic-defying soundscape. “Blood and Sand” reads as if the two are setting off on an adventure, with each taking turns leading the trek. There’s a forward motion to it that thoroughly differentiates the track from the others, down to even establishing a funky groove towards the end. The closing title track delivers a floating, hypnotic sensation as meditative vibe becomes deeper and more mysterious as it unwinds. It could well reflect the appearance of a mysterious UFO. And, surely enough, the music evaporates into the ether.
Ultimately, Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings finds two giants providing a fascinating music is easy to get lost in. It is the type of work capable only of some of the greatest artists of their generation giving into the tight, practically unreal artistic chemistry between them.
Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings is out now on Nonesuch Records. It can be purchased on Bandcamp.
Photo credit: Nicholas Albrecht
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