Polarity
Add Jimmy Bruno and Joe Beck'sPolarityto a list of stellar recent jazz guitar duo albums that includesJim HallandPat Metheny'sself-titled discand Sylvain Luc andBireli Lagrene'sDuet, among others. To a large extent, the uniqueness of the sound onPolarityis due to the instrumentation: Bruno plays a custom-built 7-string guitar and Beck emotes through an even more unusual "alto guitar," which extends his low and high ranges and makes him sound at times almost like a piano. The novel guitars aren't the only thing that sets this record apart, though. Bruno and Beck, both enormously accomplished and technically astute, blend here with a chemistry that may be surprising to jazz guitar fans familiar with the difference between their styles. Aside from Beck's beautiful solo rendition of "Tenderly" and some delicate soloing by him on "Estate," the album mainly sets Bruno's dexterous and inventive bebop runs against Beck's lush chordal accompaniment--an arrangement that brings out the best in each player (as on the luminous version of "Eleanor Rigby" and a sizzling take of "Cherokee") without compromising a thing.--Ezra Gale