As a communion of two of the world’s most outward-thinking guitarists, Realism (ESP-Disk) is a long-overdue duet of distinguished educator, author and multi-instrumentalist Joe Morris with Elliott Sharp, long a major figure of the NYC Downtown scene.
These are two artists who are much more than foremost improvisors: they’ve stretched the linguistic range of the guitar by doing things with it that have little or no precedent. Hearing either one play guitar is like listening to someone speak who invented their own, personal language.
Now, put those two of that type in a room together with nothing charted in advance, and it instantly becomes deep, exotic dives into uncharted territories. Furthermore, they extended their limitless imagination through use of effects and electronics.
So “Shapes Mentioned,” therefore, is a guitar improv session run through a nihilist blender transfigured by those effects and electronics, yet all heard together, it successfully comes off as all organically conceived. The heavy use of acoustic guitars at the core of this weirdly wonderful sound eco-system suggests a connection back to primality: the leap forward springs from the ground of innovations introduced long ago.
“Neither Odd Nor Even” goes even harder as an enthusiastic hop into the void, predominantly two scrawls often speaking as one voice, and even when the chatter turns subdued, instant ideas just keep pouring out. The electronics enhances thoughts gestating from the acoustic mind most than they supplant them.
Indeed, on many tracks on Realism there are actually three streams of music-making: the acoustic guitars, the electronic effects and the merge of these two, polar opposite effusions.
“Light Asking” is a tonal-bending festival of strident, clipped strumming and serrated scraping, getting electronically-aided freakier as the song progresses. “Freezing In Hell” eschews all the circuitry but retains the telepathy and intrepid, shared concepts that keep the performance in forward motion, finding pitches and forming shapes never heard before to keep the listener engaged.
Long, ominous tones, pitch shifting and blues-inflected, bottom register notes (particularly from Sharp) are on the menu for “Soft Version,” giving way to some barbed, percussive picking. The extraterrestrial “Arrokoth” pushes what’s possible with electronically-enhanced guitars to the outer limits, but it’s nonetheless underpinned by the symmetry and keen intuition derived from the core instruments.
You’ve likely heard very good improvisational musicians leaning on instincts to react to each other in real time, but imagine doing that not just with an organic instrument but simultaneously with pedals and knobs. And then, make that sound alien while staying coherent and insightful. There’s probably a scant few musicians — and even fewer guitarists — who can pull off such a feat. Joe Morris and Elliott Sharp not only do it, they thrive in it.
Pick up Realism today from Bandcamp.
*** Joe Morris CD’s and vinyl on Amazon ***
*** Elloitt Sharp CD’s and vinyl on Amazon ***
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