Since first joining forces over a quarter-century ago,
vocalist Mili Bermejo and bassist Dan Greenspan have created a recorded library
of timeless music with a number of cherished partners. For those fortunate enough to experience them
in live performance, however, the lingering memory of this brilliantly skilled
and totally compatible couple is likely to be the moments when they stand
alone. "We have always wanted to
make pure music," Greenspan explains, "and have always included duo
tunes in our sets." On October 7,
2016 the pair released their first all-duo program in two decades, Arte de Duo,
on Ediciones Pentagrama.
Bermejo, born in Buenos Aires, raised in Mexico City and a
professor at Berklee College of Music since 1984, and Greenspan, a New Haven
native and classically trained cellist who became one of the Boston area's
leading freelance bassists, have created a unique body of music that applies
jazz improvisation to original songs and music from throughout the
Americas. Themes of political
liberation, environmental responsibility and interpersonal commitment have
defined both their music and their career and led them to a major life
decison. "The business changed so
much post-9/11 that we had to decide whether we should reinvent
ourselves," Bermejo notes. This led
to what Greenspan describes as "an entire creative undertaking of another
kind" - a move to New Hampshire, where the couple built their own house.
"We decided to live the right way," Bermejo says
of their relocation to a nature reserve.
"It has brought us closer and closer to `do it yourself,' including
growing as much of our own food and making as many of our own clothes as
possible. It has purified us, and
removed many of our frustrations."
But, Greenspan adds, "For a while, the move replaced music. Finding opportunities to rehearse in Boston
when everyone we worked with had so many other gigs became hell." The bassist also turned his attention to
baking and has built a growing reputation with his Dan's Brick Oven Bread,
while a construction accident also left him unable to play for several months. The future of their performing partnership
became unclear.
"But Mili insisted that we couldn't let the music
go," Greenspan stresses, and the result is a new focus on the intimate
artistry that had previously only been showcased on their 1997 album Duo which
was released on Gunther Schuller's GM Records.
"It got us back to the essence of art," he says, "and
provides the best opportunity to use all of the classical information that we
have." Yet the new music, developed
over a series of monthly gigs at the Lilypad in Cambridge, Massachusetts, takes
the pair beyond their previous achievements.
"We didn't want to repeat ourselves," Bermejo adds. "Now we reduce. I think of the music like my garden, as being
all about beauty after years of work.
And nobody told me how to do it."
The influence of life in New Hampshire is clear in the
Bermejo originals "La Casa del Arbol" ("The Tree House"),
about "a secret refugeŠamong trees and stars" and "Cosecha"
("Harvest"); but she also contributes two new titles in her string of
beautiful love songs, "Los que se Aman" ("Those Who Love")
and "No Dejo de Quererte" ("I Don't Stop Loving You"). The duo also links Bermejo's "Décima
Muerte I" from their first duo disc and "Décima Muerte II" by
the Mexican poet and playwright Xavier Villarrutiga in a medley linked by a powerful
Greenspan solo.
Greenspan's bass also launches "Las Orillas del
Mar" ("At the Edge of the Sea"), a 13th Century feminist poem
with music by Hafez Modirzadeh, the composer-saxophonist who featured Bermejo
extensively on his acclaimed 2011 album In Convergence Liberation (Pi
Recordings). "Working with Hafez is
the most challenging thing I've done," she notes, "and it has opened
both of our minds. Now I'm improvising
more, though not `taking a chorus' in the traditional sense." This new improvisational freedom is joyously
displayed on "Tres Veces Heroica" ("Three Times Heroic"),
written by Mexican composer Charlie Dríguez and previously heard on the 2006
live recording De Tierra (Of Earth) (Ediciones Pentagrama), and "End of
the Beginning," written for the duo by the Armenian-born pianist and
composer Vardan Ovsepian.
"Windmills of Your Mind," by French composer Michel Legrand
with Spanish lyrics by Manuel Gurria, was also arranged by Ovsepian. "Vardan's arrangement got Dan back in
shape after his injury," Bermejo notes, adding with a laugh, "it also
made me get back in shape."
Two works from Argentina are included, "Equipaje"
("Luggage") by Juan Quintero and "Cambalache" ("Pawn
Shop") by E. Santos Discépolo. The
latter, a classic tango, gives Greenspan the opportunity to display his skill
with the bow. "Candombe para Gardel" ("Candombe for
Gardel"), a tribute to Argentinian tango master Carlos Gardel from the
Afro-Uruguayan perspective of Rubén Rada, completes the program.
Arte del Duo is Bermejo's fifth release on Mexico's
Ediciones Pentagrama label, which recently received the Independence Award from
the Fundación Mediterránea Mar y Tierra in Tarragona, Spain. "We've stayed faithful to the vision of
[label founder] Modesto López: Independence and 35 years of support to Latin
American artists dedicated to progressive social change," she notes.
The album will be released at the Lilypad on Sunday
afternoon, October 23, where a new audio system created especially for the duo
by sound engineer Art Steele will enhance the performance. "I asked Art for a minimal system, with
just two small speakers, Greenspan explains.
"Now my hands are free, just like my mother's were when she
sang," Bermejo adds.
Creativity, and the magic that ensues, remain at the heart
of Mili Bermejo's and Dan Greenspan's music; and Arte del Duo is their most
creative and magical statement to date.
