/.../ By the time of this concert, Draksler had just left Amsterdam, the city where she had become one of the brightest players of the jazz/improvised scene. It is where she met Baars in Fish-Scale Sunrise and developed ideas for the Octet he is also a member of. It is also where Baars and Ex forged their unique chemistry with a couple of duo albums, countless performances with The Ex and other projects. The guitarist even became the wild card on the latest ICP-album, Komen & Gaan. A few years ago, Draksler and Ex also road-tested their affinity, which led to the disjointed harmony of The Swim on the latter’s Terp Records.
/.../ The surprise was not the combination of these distinct personalities in itself. You could have seen that coming. The remarkable thing about it was the emotional pay-off and the sheer beauty of the performance.
/.../ Perhaps it is something like the murmuration of starlings, an unspoken and spontaneously executed agreement. In this case, the birds have a markedly divergent plumage, but there’s no discussion about their joint direction. They know where they are going and it is a sight and sound to behold.