Peter Margasak

On the surface at least, Parisian pianist Benoit Delbecq and New York pianist Andy Milne don’t seem to have much in common (aside from their choice of instrument). The former favors a ruminative and restrained approach that incorporates the buzzing dissonance of prepared strings; the latter, a former member of Steve Coleman’s funky Five Elements, tends more toward extroversion, especially with his band Dapp Theory, whose new Forward in All Directions (Contrology) glides between funk, hip-hop, soul, and fusion. But their gorgeous 2009 duo album, Where Is Pannonica? (Songlines), suggests a strong rapport, where the lyrical and the austere meld deftly in a meditative marriage of rhythm and timbre. For the new project Strings and Serpents, Delbecq and Milne have teamed up with TsuguKaji-Koto, aka the Japanese koto duo of Tsugumi Yamamoto and Ai Kajigano, as well as animator Saki Murotani, who contributes video projections; based on a short clip I’ve heard, the pairs of instruments come together around a shared affinity for delicate melody.

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