Mind Maintenance

Featuring: Joshua Abrams, Chad Taylor

Meditative moods from the Chicago duo of bassist Josh Abrams and percussionist Chad Taylor. With Taylor on mbira and Abrams on guimbri, instruments from diverse African states, finding a new pairing that moves past world music and jazz into something new, to do with dance, meditation, listening and convergence. Natural Information Society's Abrams has been using the guimbri, a lute-style bass, for years, but it's rarely sounded better than it does here, alongside Taylor's resonant mbira. Taylor was drawn to the mbira as a "spiritual instrument" after hearing it used on a Pharoah Sanders album, his deep connection with it shines here as it takes center stage, underpinned by Abrams deep plucks. 

This isn't straightforward jazz by any means, operating in a spiritual mode not a million miles from Sanders (or indeed Alice Coltrane) that defies categorization. It's a pleasure to hear the two players go head to head like this - the premise is simple but the results are ineffably beautiful.