John Tchicai, Vitold Rek, Karl Berger
2 x 2 (TMP 505)

John Tchicai - soprano & tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, voice
Vitold Rek - double bass
Karl Berger - piano, vibraphon

recorded 1991, 1992 & 2000

"John Tchicai, Vitold Rek and Karl Berger, all jazz musicians of high calibre, present a diverse programme built on the theme of dialogue."
"...in dialogue nuances are revealed in very different way: you can concentrate on your partner much more intensely because the reactions in dialogue are more spontaneous and somehow more honest. As it is in conversation so it is in music: the dialogue is the smallest form of interaction and at the same time the most intensive."
Dr. Wolfram Knauer, Jazz-Institute Darmstadt, Germany

"The jolly, Milhaud-like Ramana Maharshi incorporates some fascinating interplay between bass clarinet and double bass and features a rhythmically imaginative central bass solo... Rek and Berger provide the dialogue in Gabissimo, and they indulge in some splendid interplay in the bebop piece Imaginary Drums... The two most substantial pieces bear the same title, Zbigi, and serve as Reks homage to Polish violinist Zbigniew Seifert (1946-1979)."
Double Bassist, 2001, Great Britain

"Duets are the order of the day on 2 X 2 as Rek is paired with Tchicai or Karl Berger. Portrayed as a series of conversations, Rek alternately chats with Tchicai's bass clarinet and tenor sax or Karl Berger's piano and vibraphone. Berger, a seminal avant gardist who co-founded the Creative Music School with Ornette Coleman, is stunning in combination with Rek. Their mastery of time and tone is evident on the unhurried classically driven 'Gabissimo' and the fun up-tempo 'Imaginary Drums'. Berger greatly enjoyed the duet format: 'I love playing duets because of the conversational situation: responding to one impulse at a time, a real give and take, just like a great conversation on a theme that leads to some results, something new.' "
Elliot Simon, All About Jazz, New York, Oct. 2005

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