The Chicago Underground Duo are Rob Mazurek and Chad Taylor, two of a loose-knit but tight-working group of musicians based in the Windy City.
When working with others the duo record as a Trio, a Quartet or Orchestra but Rob and Chad form the core of the collective, and this is their third release as a pairing.
It's not of much use to say that 'Axis and Alignment' follows directly on from any of their previous joint excursions, nor any of the other Chicago Underground recordings, since the duo are all about being in the moment - about improvisation and breaking with precedents.
The only link is perhaps in terms of instrumentation. Rob still plays Cornet, Electronics and Piano, and Chad is still in charge of drums, vibes and guitar, but the interchanges between the two are as fresh and mellifluous as ever, deliberately veering between the accessible arrangements and flowing grooves of tracks like 'Lifelines' and 'Exponent
Red', and the discomforting horn squeals and clashing drums of tracks like
'Particle and Transfiguration'.
The LP zig zags between these two poles, Rob and Chad obviously intending that no one gets too comfortable or settled. If they're going to push barriers, they clearly want people to listen up and appreciate, yet the more coherent tracks here reveal that they also want people to enjoy themselves.
The musicianship of the duo is second to none. Due to the intricate merging and complexity of the layers on the album, the two players could easily carry themselves off as a quartet.
Chad brings through a wide variety of styles, from tense improvisations to flowing Latin undercurrents and funky Afrobeat licks.
Similarly, Rob can play smoothly and luxuriously but is equally capable of throwing his sounds around and producing cacophonous
results.
Whether you're into avant-garde discordance, cool impressionism or straight up funky shit, this is certainly an album to check.
