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Bill Bruford/Michiel Borstlap: Every Step a Dance, Every Word a Song
BySince the release of Earthworks Mark II's début, A Part, and Yet Apart (Summerfold, '99), Bruford's playing style has loosened up to the point where he is now a far more in-the-moment player, responsive to his musical surroundings. So when he met Dutch pianist Michiel Borstlap in '02 and began playing duo shows that were less about the confines of structure and more about what Bruford terms "performance-based" musicmusic of the moment where spontaneity and interaction were the predominant factorsit seemed as though Bruford had made yet another leap forward. With the release of Every Step a Dance, Every Word a Song , an album of live performances culled from dates performed in Europe during '03 and '04, Bruford's evolution is confirmed.
While Bruford and Borstlap are still more concerned with form than, say, Italian pianist Enrico Pieranunziwhose recent album with Paul Motian, Doorways , is another beast entirelythe reciprocation between the two jumps out from the first notes of the more structured "The 16 Kingdoms of the 5 Barbarians." Bruford's liner notes allude to the fact that the performance space impacts the nature of the musical dialoguesmaller rooms having "the intimacy of a dinner table conversation between old friends,'? while larger venues "naturally become a bit more muscular and assertive." Still, on more introspective pieces including the title track, the anthem-like "Inhaling Shade," and an abstract, yet faithful reading of Monk's "Round Midnight," Bruford may gently assert the forward motion, but he's also become a masterful colourist. And while Borstlap's supplementing of his piano with electronic keyboards sometimes gives the duo a broader complexion, the subtleties of their exchange are never overshadowed by sheer demonstrativeness.
Every Step a Dance, Every Word a Song may not be as great a step forward for Borstlap, already a well-established jazz figure, but it represents one more advance in the pursuit of a more instinctive and natural approach for Bruford, an artist who has, for all intents and purposes, left his rock roots completely behind him.
Track Listing
The 16 Kingdoms of the 5 Barbarians; Bemsha Swing; Inhaling Shade; One Big Vamp; 'Round Midnight; (announcement); Every Step a Dance, Every Word a Song; Stand on Zanzibar; Swansong.
Personnel
Bill Bruford
drumsBill Bruford: drums, log drum; Michiel Borstlap: piano, keyboards.
Album information
Title: Every Step a Dance, Every Word a Song | Year Released: 2005 | Record Label: Summerfold Records
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