With its second full length release–appropriately dubbed Deux–Seattle based Billet-Deux proves itself to be one of the most mature, innovative, and intelligent bands mining the rich vein of Gypsy Jazz. Led by guitarist and founder Troy Chapman and cellist James Hinkley, the revamped ensemble (with a new rhythm section replacing that from their debut disc Alita) tours through decades of jazz history over the course of the album, including pieces by Mingus (Goodbye Porkpie Hat), Sonny Rollins (Pent-Up House), and Wes Montgomery (album opener Four On Six, which is quickly becoming a new standard among gypsy jazzers). Where many albums in the genre feature a laundry list of tunes associated with Django Reinhardt, the sole tune of his included here is his late-era Anouman, a beautiful ballad that, with its resemblance to the Bill Evans classic Blue in Green, slips perfectly into this moody and evocative set.
But it’s not only their choice of repertoire that sets Billet-Deux apart. Their arrangements are tight, sophisticated pieces of work that dispense with the head-solos-head boilerplate in favor of forms that create a musical path for listeners to travel upon. Chapman’s guitar and Hinkley’s cello weave in and out, around and over each other, carrying on a conversation like old friends. Beneath them, the percussion work of Roger Bennett and rhythm guitar of Josephina Hunner keeps a subtle heartbeat pulse, unobtrusive but compulsively swinging. Together, they make a music that’s eminently listenable–music that creates its own mood, and one that you don’t tire of returning to time and again.
That’s a rare and admirable thing in a circle that seems to anoint a new guitar messiah every few months. Part of the credit has to go to Hinkley’s cello, whose voice alone–richer and more sonorous than the more common violin–helps shape the music into something warm, soft, and darkly inviting. In Hinkley’s hands, it’s also a surprisingly versatile instrument; while an accompanying role as a quasi-bass is easy enough to imagine, that’s not what’s happening here (bassist Michael Yocco holds down that job). Instead, it’s in the carved lines and fluid bowing of his solos that Hinkley really makes the instrument sing. One wonders why it’s not heard more often in jazz circles.
As a guitarist, Chapman is a musician. That is, he always seems intent on creating something uniquely beautiful instead of blowing through a collection of runs. One gets the feeling that Chapman has already studied the fireworks school of playing, only to put it aside in favor of making more meaningful work–a work that speaks wholly in his own voice, and has a lot to say.
To learn about purchasing Deux, visit the Billet-Deux site!