David Philips & Abel Boquera have been playing together in one form or another for more than a decade, but they never made a record together, and even the just-released The Duo Sessions only became a record perhaps as an afterthought. Usually, the recordings of songs beget the videos for them; here, the videos came first and then the idea to make a record out of the performances caught on camera in Boquera’s studio came afterwards.
A David Philips record that includes another musician is a very rare event; none of the prior seven ones covered in this space had anyone else playing on them. So it may be a revelation to some that Philips plays well with others, and this singer-songwriter guitar whiz certainly meshes with his Fender Rhodes-playing friend.
The first two tunes come from Philips’ then-latest album Get Along, and this drum-less version of “Another Day” isn’t really missing anything because the beat is still intact. Boquera’s electric piano and Philips’s acoustic guitar blend so well, at times they sound as one. The funky folk-jazz song “My Gravity” (video above) similarly has plenty of propulsion without the formal percussion. Boquera’s swinging solo only enhances the jazz element of the song even further.
The final track is Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel” and Philips’ soulful croon is a natural for this number. For good measure, he tosses in a nifty aside from his acoustic six -string during the instrumental break.
At a running time just past 11 minutes, it’s barely an EP much less an LP, but it’s a pocket-sized collection of a couple of really good musicians and pals having fun with a trio of fine songs. Ain’t nothing wrong with that.
The Duo Sessions is available now, from Black and Tan Records.
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