Kômanawa is a duo, and duos are seldom heard in the bigger Jazz clubs. The gig was billed as a first for the CJC, but what of ‘Showa 44’ I thought? That was an Australian duo featuring Carl Dewhurst & Simon Barker, so I checked back, and although Showa 44 was a duo, they had included Roger Manins as guest. So yes, Kõmanawa was a first. 

There is a unique kind of intimacy to a Jazz duo performance and it is quite unlike other configurations. It is a fluid conversation between equals and in that regard Chrystal Choi and Michael Howell were well matched. They may have different styles, but they are both attentive listeners and they showed respect for each other’s musical space. 

Over the years there have been plenty of fabulous Jazz duos and the best of the duo albums remain perennially popular: Charley Haden & Pat Metheny, (also Haden with Hank Jones or Kenny Barron), Bill Evans & Jim Hall, and my favourite, Carla Bley & Steve Swallow. The Jazz duo is a unique form and especially suited to nuanced musical conversations.  Out of that a skillful interplay arises. People took particular note when Evans cut the two albums with Hall, because a piano and guitar can all too easily occupy the same register and get in each-others way. 

All of the above had been assimilated by this duo and they wove around each other with care. Their performance was also warm and engaging, and as they played, you felt like you were eavesdropping on an intimate conversation. That is how a duo performance works best, avoiding any fireworks, and by modulating showiness. The audience got that and paid close attention. 

While both musicians contributed tunes, the majority were from Choi. I was so engaged that I failed to notice that I had not switched on the external camera mic. The absence of the small green light dawned on me just before the end of the gig and the tune that I most wanted to post is recorded as a well-choreographed silent movie. The tune in question was titled ‘Playground Song’ (Choi) and it swung softly like a Carla Bley/Swallow tune. You will have to take my word for that, but it really did. There is an EP or an LP waiting to happen here, and I hope that they record this material. I captured only one tune, the second to last tune. It is an arrangement of a tune that Choi wrote for her Indie pop group.

Throughout, Choi moved between the piano and vintage Wurlitzer, Howell sometimes used a slide and produced wonderfully atmospheric sounds. The gig took place at the Creative Jazz Club, Anthology, November 18, 2020.

JazzLocal32.com was rated as one of the 50 best Jazz Blogs in the world by Feedspot. The author is a professional member of the Jazz Journalists Association. Many of these posts also appear on Radio13.co.nz – check it out.