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There is generally an upgrade in seeing live what you’ve only heard on record and watching these kinetic, engaging performers added a great deal to the experience of listening to the music. The warmth of the sound in the Shaolin Liu helped, particularly the deep accordion bass resonance, as did the closeness that the audience members felt toward the musicians after their engaging performance. Probably for several reasons - apart from the performance itself - the tune worked a lot better in the concert setting. Despite the transformations, the tune remains evocative of Morton.Īs an encore Peirani and Parisien played Kate Bush’s “Army Dreamers.” I wasn’t impressed with the tune when I heard it on Abrazo.

They also play “The Crave,” by Jelly Roll Morton, which may seem an odd vehicle for the duo but, like many of Morton’s tunes, it features what Morton called the “Spanish Tinge.” Peirani and Parisien put the song through multiple changes - riffs extracted and altered, faster tempo, tango replacning some of the raggy elements. The tune has the kind of bones that allow it to be easily transmogrified into a modern tango. The duo’s repertoire includes an American foray into exoterica called “Temptation,” written by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed in 1933 (not Xavier Cugat, as the album credits say). It is a very far cry from “Hernando’s Hideaway.” Vincent Peirani and Emile Parisien Photo: FranceRocks For those who haven’t explored the tango - as it was expanded by Piazzolla and Gubitsch - this development of the form is deep and fascinating. The duo also plays “A Bebernos Los Vientos” (To Drink the Winds) by Argentinian composer-guitarist Tomás Gubitsch. Their Piazzolla cover, “Deus Xango,” was preceded by two jazz recordings made in the mid -’70s: Astor Piazzolla and Gerry Mulligan with a chamber orchestra and a jazz fusion recording featuring Piazzolla with Larry Coryell. They perform several compositions by Astor Piazzolla. I would characterize his soloing as, at times, “jazz,” while on occasion it can sound Baroque, akin to a harpsichordist improvising to a figured bass.Īs noted, the repertoire of the album and concert is tango (writ large). He displays complete control of the instrument and can find a vibrato and tone that works for any given musical moment - from a bluesy howl to a classical purr. Happily, Parisien’s concentration on the horn has paid off. Unfortunately, the instrument usually doesn’t get the care and feeding necessary to bring out its potential. For decades, it was a fairly rare instrument until Coltrane opened up the gates with “My Favorite Things” in 1961 and it became as ubiquitous as the alto or tenor. I tend not to be that much of a soprano fan. Unlike other sax players, he sticks to the soprano. Soprano sax player Parisien, who is 39, has also played in a variety of styles. He plays a full-size accordion, and fully delineates its wide sonic palette. There is also a perfect synchronicity in the unison sections they sounded as one voice as they take on these highly complex lines, often at break-neck tempos.Ĥ1-year-old accordionist Peirani has won many international awards and there seem to be few genres that he hasn’t explored. They are perfectly attuned to each other’s musical movements and the communication between them is effortless and empathetic. This is a testament to the level of their communication and to the ease with which they flow in and out of these ambiguous sections.

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In the case of this duo, it is sometimes difficult to know whether the playing is free or very highly arranged. I’m someone who is sensitive to various types of free playing. The communication between them was effortless, empathetic, and flawless.

This was the duo’s first show in the U.S., though they have performed over 600 concerts together. The concert’s repertoire was drawn from the duo’s recent album Abrazo (Embrace) and this review will talk about both the concert and the album. These two Frenchmen played a program of tango music and, though this music is not “of their culture,” the duo demonstrated that probing musical minds, collaborative sensitivity, and technical virtuosity sometimes render moot any question of “cultural appropriation.” The communication between Vincent Peirani’s accordion and Emile Parisien’s soprano sax was effortless, empathetic, and flawless.Ī recent concert at the Shaolin Liu in Rockport by the duo Vincent Peirani (accordion) and Emile Parisien (soprano sax) lifted the spirits and stirred the soul.

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