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Abdou Boni — Sources
(Circum-Disc CIDI2203, 2022, CD)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2022-10-04

Sources Cover art

Does that album cover remind anyone else of the image at the beginning of the old Alfred Hitchcock TV series from the late 50s and early 60s? (I realize I’m dating myself…) Well, close inspection will surely reveal that it’s not Hitchcock’s profile, but what the heck is it? We may never know. What we have here is an interesting and often engaging improvisational duo from members of the Muzzix collective that began in 2017 as a quartet, but by the time of their next meeting in 2019, Nicolas Maheux and Pher Motury had dropped out, leaving only the remaining duo of Raymond Boni (guitar and harmonica) and Sakina Abdou (saxophone and recorder, also a member of ADOCT) performing in a near all-acoustic setting. Both Abdou and Boni are skilled and experienced improvisers, so their pairing offers plenty of resulting curiosity and contrasts as the pair proceed along each of these nine tracks, some of which are over and done in less than two minutes, others which stretch out to nearly six. They employ all sorts of extended techniques on their respective intruments, as well as plenty conventional playing to boot, with Boni’s standard techniques operating in a jazz-centric mode; one can imagine all of the unusual ways one could produce sounds on an acoustic guitar, and somehow Boni finds yet even more. Likewise, Sakina Abdou doesn’t restrict herself to conventional techniques, and occasionally even plays her saxes as percussive instruments. Together they manage to rise to every moment with something clever, unusual, and more importantly, satisfying. Plenty can be imagined from an acoustic guitar and sax improv entanglement, so it might be worth the reader’s time to visit the Bandcamp page and discover what this duo is really up to.

Filed under: New releases, 2022 releases

Related artist(s): Raymond Boni, Sakina Abdou

More info
http://circum-disc.bandcamp.com/album/sources

 

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