Blue Side Volume 2 – Tobin Mueller and Tomás Martinez (self-released)

As the title suggests, Blue Side Volume 2 is the continued sonic adventures of Tobin Mueller and Tomás Martinez, a collaboration that runs the jazz gauntlet from contemporary sounds to more traditional forms, taking in the structured and, more often than not, the more stream-of-consciousness composition style that is Mueller’s forte, not only hopping genres but creating a few new ones along the way.

“Yin Yang” is the perfect name for two musicians who complement each other, and it is the sound of Martinez dueting with himself, his alto saxophones wrapping around each other as Mueller’s piano lines give them something to dance over. The sound of three instruments, played by two people who, in turn, become one sonic entity. That is the sort of thing that we are dealing with here. So, forewarned is forearmed…as they say.

“Shenandoah” is a duet in the more conventional sense, with spacious piano laying down the landscape through which the alto sax cuts its meandering musical path. A sonic picture of the titular river, and also a reminder of how many of our classic tunes have been repurposed, as Mueller then introduces the motifs and melodies of “Danny Boy,” its Celtic cousin.

Musical dynamics and more meditative forces blend at the heart of “Cut Flowers,” the title implying something of the duality of decorative flowers: both looking beautiful in a vase but, once cut, living on borrowed time. In keeping with the theme, the music is both gorgeously romantic and slightly melancholic, a heady blend of the seductive and sad.

The solo piece, “Reflections of Narcissus,” allows Mueller time to explore the keyboard just for the sake of it, a space where the music evolves in response to the ideas tumble from his mind, from the busy to the beatific, the serene to the sonically adventurous. Another tragic literary character follows, and her story is told through “Holding Breath With Ophelia,” an ebb and flow between alto and tenor saxes and guiding piano lines, dynamic and daring, a musical landscape as changeable as her confusing fortunes.

Whilst Blue Side Volume 2 naturally completes the musical package, so perfect are Tobin Mueller and Tomás Martinez as they play together, pushing each other’s boundaries and bringing out the best in each other, that I feel there is much more work for them to do. Not that I am suggesting that they hurry along with the next project, this gorgeous 2-album array will hold fans of jazz, experimental, and discerning music spellbound for a long time to come.