Dave Adewumi couldn’t make it on Friday. Anders Nielsen stepped in on electric guitar, with Isaac Levien on stand-up bass, and the two of them played from a shared music stand. The sideways attention musicians develop when they’ve played together before was noticeable, even if not always in this configuration. I was fifteen feet away, which was close enough to watch Isaac track the movement of Anders’ fretting hand between phrases.
The first song was called “Betwhen.” Isaac explained it before they played: he thinks there should be a word for the state of being between things, one that specifically involves time. So he made one. They played originals and moved through jazz standards. Some were recognizable. Some I was hearing for the first time, and being introduced to them in that room made me want to listen more. One song, called XR1, was a personal song. At one point, he drew a bow across the bass strings. The room was small enough that you could hear every note.
The room is a working distillery. Copper stills, barrels, and shelves of equipment and ingredients are stacked along the walls. Hard surfaces and a small room gave the sound nowhere to go but toward you. The music was soft, but along with the neighborhood crowd, it filled the space. Some people were seat-dancing. Everyone was friendly.
The newsletter line was “doesn’t need a premise beyond two musicians in a room.” It still holds. The copper distillery equipment and close quarters gave the room a character that suited the music.
