Second-lining the Six

Wildly enjoyable set from a duo called Donkey Monkey, which is made up of Eve Risser on piano and Yuko Oshima on drums, both completely unknown to me. Very nice bitonalities from the piano, not like you’d usually expect in that kind of context, no mock-twelve-tone aesthetic, but rather a hint of ragtime sublimations as tried out by serious French composers. Now if I’d want to launch the return of the Pianola, I’d ask Eve to record the rolls, and I mean that as a compliment. She kind of locked herself into a pattern, then it was up to Yuko to keep things open. You could hear she’s at home in a rock context, she punches to the point and is prone to fall into a groove. She keeps the whole thing earthy, but still she’s the freer agent on stage. I love improv with that sort of straightforward gestures. Very pleasant surprise. Okay, now who’s what? Usually the drums would be the donkey, but here they get to perform the pranks.