feature photo: Véronique Hoegger
As master vibraphonist/marimbist Patricia Brennan embarks on the next step in her fast-rising career, the avant-jazz star found concord with her counterpart on piano, Sylvie Courvoisier. The two have combined for Brennan’s first duet record that will be coming our way soon.
In Courvoisier, Brennan has the perfect partner with which to engage in musical brainstorming: the French savant pianist made some very memorable records with guitarist Mary Halvorson and the one-on-one with trumpet giant Wadada Leo Smith last year was equally delightful. That didn’t go unnoticed by Brennan, who observed, “I heard Sylvie Courvoisier play long before I ever imagined we might share a bandstand. What struck me immediately was that she approached the piano, not simply as a harmonic instrument, but as an entire physical world. She seemed to be searching for sounds that were hidden inside it: unexpected resonances, fragile textures, sudden bursts of rhythm. Listening to her made me feel that the instrument could always reveal something new if you stayed curious enough.”
Talamanti (June 26, 2026) is a group of nine tracks that came out of their recording sessions, seven by Brennan and a couple of re-imaginings of Courvoisier compositions. Talamanti is also effectively the launch of a new record company, Brennan’s Antlia Records, a nonprofit, independent label whose mission is “to empower artists to evolve without limits, fostering innovation, originality, and fearless expression.” Sounds like this is going to soon be a home for forward-thinking virtuosos like Brennan herself.
A few seconds into the advance single “Disparate Chase” streaming above and you understand why the song is called as such. It’s a story of contrast and communion; Courvoisier’s clipped notes go up against Brennan’s floating harmonics and just as readily chases down tangled figures with Brennan so closely the two effectually create a ‘new’ instrument that combines the timbres of the piano and vibraphone where they overlap, giving off this especially lush resonance. Brennan’s chart is constructed in an expansive composing style with some classical elements that provides a framework for the two to breathe and improvise, as her songs tend to do.
Pre-order Talamanti from Bandcamp.
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