Dialogues

Recorded at the early stages of Centazzo's career, Dialogues is a percussion duo between student (Centazzo) and established pro (Pierre Favre). This sort of project can be difficult to translate to CD. While there is no question as to the virtuosity of both players, the recording is likely more fun for the performers than for the listeners, more interesting to watch in person than to hear passively through stereo speakers. This is a short album, with 12 tracks, each an exploration of sound in which it is difficult to tell which percussionist is which. The sounds are varied and carefully drawn, capitalizing in large part on Favre's restrained voices. The titles of the tunes appear to have been added after the fact. (How else could names like "Dim," "Din," and "Dip" have been selected?) Those with a special penchant for percussion should most enjoy this album. Others might find a little more than half-an-hour of sticks and clicks a bit much.