A special kind of improvisational intimacy, one that often generates the most “jazzy”-sounding jazz. These selections lean recent—which is not indicative of any actual historical trend but rather the massive gaps in my knowledge/taste—and free.

Julius Hemphill & Abdul Wadud (photos from Live in New York LP and Michael Wilderman)

00:00. Spoons & Bones – “All the Ears” from Spoons & Bones (Czaszka, 2020)

02:19. Ramsey Ameen & Sirone (of Cecil Taylor Unit) – duet from One Too Many Salty Swift and Not Goodbye (Hat Hut, 1980)

08:14. Julius Hemphill & Abdul K. Wadud – “In Space” from Live in New York (Red, 1978)

14:59. Frode Gjerstad & Isach Skeidsvoll – “Third hand. Fourth finger.” from Twenty Fingers (Relative Pitch, 2021)

20:28. Jessica Ackerley & Daniel Carter – “Welcome Our Friends” from Friendship: Lucid Shared Dreams and Time Travel (577, 2022)

25:47. Shelley Burgon & Trevor Dunn – fourth part of Baltimore (Skirl, 2006)

29:43. Patrick Shiroishi & Zachary Paul – “At the Moment of Being Heard” from Of the Shapes of Hearts and Humans (The  Tapeworm, 2021)

35:33. Nick Mazzarella & Tomeka Reid – “Blues for Julius and Abdul” from Signaling (Nessa, 2017)