Jerry Granelli/Jamie Saft: The Only Juan

And now for something completely different-there’s the new duet disc by drummer Jerry Granelli and keyboardist Jamie Saft titled The Only Juan (Love Slave). Beautifully recorded live at the Pequot Library in Southport, Conn., this one is more about sound, texture and concept than theme and variation on changes. In fact, the only thing recognizable is a haunting, crescendo/decrescendo piano version of the Joni Mitchell song “Rainy Night House,” a ballad titled “Club Date” and a fleeting reference to Monk’s “I Mean You.” Otherwise, it’s the reverberations and overtones of “Solo Bells,” the wild psycho surf tune “Baby San,” the ambience and sotto voce mumbling of “Gong” (just the thing to drive your paranoid neighbors over the edge), the shouting, clattering and bellowing of “Clear the Room” and the hilariously distorted “Don’t Stop.” Great stuff if you go for this sort of thing.

Originally Published November 1, 2002