Reviews:

Met drie muzikanten kun je even zovele duo’s vormen. En op even zovele cd’s horen we op ‘Duals’ drie steunpilaren uit de jazzen improvisatiescene van Boston: pianist Pandelis Karayorgis, trombonist Jeb Bishop en bassist Damon Smith (al zijn de laatste twee sinds de opnamen naar elders verkast). Opvallend genoeg zit er ook een opbouw in de drie plaatjes: het duo van Bishop en Smith is puur geimproviseerd, op de tweede cd zijn improvisaties én composities van de pianist te horen, en de laatste disc bevat naast vrije stukken werk van zowel Bishop als Karayorgis. Dat levert als resultaat op dat Bishop en Smith de boel redelijk volspelen en ze zelden even stilvallen. Maar met het arsenaal aan instrumenttechnieken die de twee beheersen, is de variatie evengoed groot. Bij dit duo horen we ook hoe groot de affiniteit tussen de scene van Boston en de Nederlandse improvisatiemuziek is. Een duo van Wolter Wierbos of Joost Buis met Wilbert de Joode of Raoul van der Weide had vermoedelijk veel vergelijkbare muzikale keuzes gemaakt. In het duo met Karayorgis laat de bassist horen dat hij behalve een creatieve improvisator ook een machtige swinger is. De Amerikaanse Griek Karayorgis heeft een voorliefde voor componerende pianisten als Monk, Herbie Nichols en Elmo Hope, en dat horen we hier in tracks als ‘Lifgatowy’ en ‘Mr Cook’. Het tweetal geeft elkaar flink de ruimte om met het gecomponeerde materiaal te stoeien, zodat er hier meer lucht in de muziek zit dan bij het eer- ste duo. Op de laatste cd leidt een dergelijke aan- pak ook tot andere speelwijzen voor Bishop. Hij kan regelmatig zijn prachtige toon etaleren in stukken als ‘Roil JB’ en het balladachtige, ontroerende ‘Ice’. Daarnaast is er voor het tweetal gelegenheid om ritmisch flink uit te pakken. ‘Ledge’ en ‘Ledger’ zijn daar goede voorbeelden van. ‘Duals’ is een boeiende set, die vooral uitblinkt in subtiliteit en geconcentreerd luistergedrag. Want of er nu vrij geïmproviseerd wordt of uitgegaan van composities, de drie laten horen hoe rijk en rijp hun muzikale bagage is.
Herman te Loo, Jazzflits nummer 404, 2 oktober 2023

You can form as many duos with three musicians. And on as many CDs on 'Duals' we hear three mainstays from Boston's jazz and improvisation scene: pianist Pandelis Karayorgis, trombonist Jeb Bishop and bassist Damon Smith (although the latter two have moved elsewhere since the recordings were made). Remarkably, there is also a build-up in the three records: the duo of Bishop and Smith is purely improvised, the second CD features improvisations as well as compositions by the pianist, and the last disc contains work by both Bishop and Karayorgis in addition to free pieces. As a result, Bishop and Smith play reasonably full and they rarely stop for a moment. But with the arsenal of instrumental techniques the two have mastered, the variety is just as great. With this duo, we also hear how great the affinity is between the Boston scene and Dutch improvisational music. A duo of Wolter Wierbos or Joost Buis with Wilbert de Joode or Raoul van der Weide would probably have made many similar musical choices. In the duo with Karayorgis, the bassist shows that in addition to being a creative improviser, he is also a mighty swinger. The American Greek Karayorgis has a predilection for composing pianists like Monk, Herbie Nichols and Elmo Hope, and we hear that here in tracks like 'Lifgatowy' and 'Mr. Cook'. The pair give each other plenty of room to fiddle with the composed material, so that there is more air in the music here than with the first duo. On the last CD, such an approach also leads to different ways of playing for Bishop. He can regularly showcase his beautiful tone in pieces such as "Roil JB" and the ballad-like, moving "Ice. In addition, there is opportunity for the twosome to go wild rhythmically. 'Ledge' and 'Ledger' are good examples of that. 'Duals' is a captivating set that excels especially in subtlety and concentrated listening. For whether freely improvised or based on compositions, the three show how rich and mature their musical baggage is.
Herman te Loo, Jazzflits nummer 404, 2 oktober 2023
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator

Driff Records was formed in 2012 by pianist Pandelis Karayorgis and reeds/electronics player Jorrit Dijkstra, two European musicians who settled in Boston, Massachusetts, in order for each to have a stable release platform for their respective projects. Karayorgis appears on the three albums under consideration here. Each release highlights a particular aspect of his efforts to sustain a creative life in a town not particularly known for its friendliness to improvised music.

Boston's creative jazz scene is small, so when a new musician appears, their impact is felt. Trombonist Jeb Bishop and bassist Damon Smith have both come and gone, and Duals spotlights the virtues they brought to the scene. It’s a triple CD of duets by the three duos possible when you add Karayorgis to their number. While the balance between composition and improvisation varies from duo to duo, the players’ instincts and personalities come to the fore. Bishop brings loves for melody, sound effects, and a lot of heart; Karayorgis articulates complex structures with maximum clarity; Smith brings stern conviction and chops to match, demanding the most of his partners. This music is tough, smart, and sugar-free.
Bill Meyer, The Wire - February 2023 (Issue 468)

American-Greek, Boston-based pianist Pandelis Karayorgis is also the co-founder of Driff Records, with another ex-pat, Dutch sax player Jorrit Dijkstra. His recent releases document the vibrant free music scene of Boston.

Duals is a 3-CD set, with each disc containing a duo session between three long-time comrades – Karayorgis, trombonist Jeb Bishop and double bass player Damon Smith. The first one is between Bishop and Smith, the second one is between pianist Karayorgis and Smith, and the third one is between Karayorgis and Bishop. These duos were recorded between October 2021 to June 2022, during Bishop’s last year of residency in Boston (that began in 2016) and soon after Smith had moved to St. Louis.

Bishop, Karayorgis and Smith are experienced, idiosyncratic improvisers, equipped with highly personal and inventive, extended techniques, and have crossed paths frequently with each other in the past. All three duos offer conversational dynamics but each one stresses their strong individual personalities. Bishop sketches brief melodic ideas and smart, playful games, and often sings and speaks with the trombone, and his duo with Smith is completely freely improvised. Smith opts for cryptic, unpredictable textures, and always challenges his partners with his restless, powerful playing, never settling on familiar patterns. Karayorgis articulates complex and nuanced structures, often clearly rooted in the jazz legacy, and his duets with Smith and Bishop alternate between the contemplative and introspective and the urgent and intense, with his original compositions alongside free improvisations. The duo of Karayorgis and Bishop is the most impressive and poetic one, enjoying their profound affinity and their gift to suggest well-crafted, intriguing, melodic structures, even within free improvisations.
Eyal Hareuveni, February 19, 2023 (link)

The Jeopardy answer is "three to the power of 2." If you buzzed in fast enough with "what is the album Duals"? You would be correct. The three musicians, trombonist Jeb Bishop, bassist Damon Smith, and pianist Pandelis Karayorgis recorded these 33 duos in Boston between the fall of 2021 and the summer of 2022. While we promised there would be no math, the equation 'three to the power of 2' actually equals three separate discs each with duo combinations of trombone-bass, piano-bass, and piano-trombone.

Disc one features the collaboration between Bishop's trombone and Smith's bass. The pair have recorded together in a free improvisation quartet with cornetist Dan Clucas and drummer Matt Crane, plus JeJaWeDa, another quartet with drummer Weasel Walter and vocalist Jaap Blonk. Here they deliver nine improvised tracks. The music ranges from the raucous to the euphonious. Both musicians have the skills to instigate turbulence or deliver sounds in sotto voce. Together they find a balance with Bishop popping and growling on "Blecher" while Smith applies objects to his strings. A muted trombone "Pestalozzi" draws out Smith's bowed explorations of varying pitches and rumbles. More objects are thwacked on "School Device" as Smith manhandles his tone generating bass and Bishop translates his trombone's bluesy dialect.

The transition to piano and bass duets is also a change in style. Smith is a member of of the Pandelis Karayorgis Trio and also his Double Trio. The improvised music of disc one gives way to twelve composed tracks split between Smith and Karayorgis. Composed that is until the musicians blast off into the stratosphere of "Pennant" or chase each other randomly down the slippery slopes of "Whistles" where their entropy finds its own orderliness. Karayorgis' compositions are flavored with his fondness for the music of Thelonious Monk and Smith's writing points more towards chaos. Yet, his maelstrom must be classified as chamber turbulence of the finest sort.

Finally, the duo between Bishop and Karayorgis is a mixture of composed and improvised pieces. Both musicians are members of The Whammies, an ensemble dedicated to the music of Steve Lacy and also the avant big band Bathysphere. Their familiarity with each other's approach is quite apparent on the twelve tracks. The composed pieces are well, quite composed. Much like chamber music "Three," "Never Ending," and the beautifully sober "Ice" find the pair performing in a sympathetic unison. Bishop has the ability to transform his trombone into the most gentle instrument when he is required to accompany the hushed tones of Karayorgis. The hush is followed by the pianist's left hand stomp and the bleat of bone-on-keys rumble of "Roll PK" or the machine-like redundancy of "Razorlip." (4/5 stars)
Mark Corroto, February 19, 2023 (link)

A realized experiment in round-robin improvising, Duals matches three improvisers from three cities in sequential duets that exposes diverse styles of free music. Disc 1 matches slides and slurs from Chicago trombonist Jeb Bishop with the patterning and intricate string patterns of St. Louis bassist Damon Smith. Switching partners Smith intersects with the oblique piano designs of Boston’s Pandelis Karayorgis on Disc 2, while Disc 3 joins Bishop and Karayorgis.

Bishop-Smith’s nine meetings are arguably the most expressive and exploratory of the three approximately hour-long sets. Overall they involve Bishop expelling tongue flutters, intermittent smears, gutsy growls and half-valve purrs among other techniques, as Smith challenges or responds with equivalent timbres extensions encompassing string hammering, arco scratches and col legno patterning. Although abutting atonality, the veteran improvisers are in such control of the sounds and synergy that lyrical and linear motifs are bult into the results. Most obtuse and exploratory of the tracks are “Photo Op” and “Uni Device”. On the former Smith’s distinctive strident scrapes interrupt the studied flow of Bishop’s portamento advances that become more mellow and graceful as the string pressure deepens the pitches. An instance of plunger diffusion the latter tune finds the trombonist introducing pinched brass bites and sputters to disrupt the percussive power emanating from Smith’s string rubbing. Other brass tropes include vocalized sputters and drones and gradual theme inflation from Bishop and tough arco stops, supple strums and resonating string pinches from Smith. These duets are completed with “School Device”. Emphasizing the melodic and mutated parts of the program, string pops mixed with vibrating metal objects as well as flatulent triplets and backflow breaths confirm the two’s exploratory framework at the same time as melded flutter tonguing and unvarying string strums harmonize.

Meanwhile the dozen Smith-Karayorgis tracks list more towards (free) Jazz than anything on the other sessions. Perhaps because of the heritage of piano-double bass sessions, it often appears as if Karayorgis is shaking out moderated, though contorted, keyboard patterns with Smith answering these positioned note cascades with sympathetic string thumps or arco slices. Whether the tempo is andante, allegro or presto, the combination of shaped stops and a regularized beat bring out story-telling inferences from the pianist. Among the instances of this are tracks such as “Lifgatowy” and “Entanglement”, where Karayorgis’ affinity for Monk-like construction is emphasized. On the first a multi-fingered theme statement is torqued by the addition of double bass string drones, which turn to below-the-bridge slaps as the pianist opens up the piece for responsive, multi-toned elaborations while Smith’s walking emphasizes the beat and the tune’s horizontal flow. “Entanglement” shows that obtuse elaborations can be expressed with a pedal point piano continuum as effectively as higher-pitched notes. Karayorgis is also able to create deliberate forward motion at the same time as he burlesques the flow with sneaky asides. Smith’s response consists of a combination of clenched arco squeals and complementary linear sweeps. Although elsewhere Smith-Karayorgis may relax into harmonies that encompass high-pitched tinkles or slinky expositions from the pianist and groove cementing plucks from the bassist, mutual experimentation is best emphasized on “Undertow”. A squirming line, cooperation is paramount as the bassist’s string pummeling and repeated double stops underline keyboard strategies. Galloping from note cascades to a vibrating ostinato and climaxing with seemingly endless swishes and squalls here too unexpected creativity is showcased as much as freebop conventionality.

Unsurprisingly perhaps the 12 racks on Disc 3 featuring Bishop and Karayorgis at different times emphasize elements of Bishop-Smith’s near atonality and Smith-Karayorgis’ more measured takes. At least by the time the first two tracks are completed the two have shown off their exploratory side with long submerged puffs and repeated plunger notes from Bishop and key clicks and hunt-and-peck eccentricities from the pianist on one hand and mellow affiliated brass slurs and sympathetic keyboard chording on the other. Variations of this continue throughout the disc with upwards slides, brass blats and speedy spittle tones from the trombonist and piano key strumming as prominent as affiliated tandem elaborations. “Summer” and “Ice” are the most traditional tracks. The latter is a mellow ballad which almost sounds like a songbook comp, while the first allows more room for expression. With textures from both instruments moving in a straight line. Bishop’s graceful stutters and expressive burry slides meet moderated keyboard comping and vibrations until both lines climax as a tandem expression. Although there are pressurized and bouncy inferences elsewhere, the most unconventional creations are “Ledger” and “Ledge”. Both explode from the top with unison brass blasts and keyboard clanks. The former elaborates the exposition with spittle-encrusted presto bites and slurs while rolling key variations almost up to player-piano speed torque the program until the ending. Karayorgis extends his playing to near-boogie proportions on “Ledge” with the tones becoming more tensile and freer as the expositions move up the scale. For his part Bishop projects triplets forward with tailgate gusto, ending with short brassy honks.

. Pivots among swing, intensity, calm and emotionalism are expressed in these duets and the same applies to the other Duals. Taken one disc at a time or all at once, they’re prime examples of proficient one-on-one interpretations and improvisations.
Ken Waxman, June 6, 2023, jazzword.com