From the out Dave Manley’s uncomplicated and warm acoustic guitar style sets the flow of the tracks, superbly varied and engaging in ‘Big Sky’ and becomes the perfect accompaniment for Tallitsch’s restrained sax style. This sets the tone for the whole of Duality, which never drops below entirely engaging.

The duality referred to in the title is a simple one — the duet of Philadelphia based musicians Tallitsch and Manley, a duality of sax and guitar, and really that’s all it needs — Duality keeps it simple, there are no tricks, this is sold as seen jazz straight from the Philly clubs Tallisch has made his mark on over the last ten years.

The album is mostly original pieces, with a Wayne Shorter jazz standard ‘Infant Eyes’ thrown in, along with, more unexpectedly but no less appropriately, Stevie Wonder’s ‘Visions’.

The whole album is a smooth blend of tasteful guitar and tenor sax, with the showboating kept to a minimum giving it all the more presence when they let fly. For example the guitar solo in ‘Mablestates’ has Manley flying about the fretboard with the same airy ease with which he carries the rest of the album and Tallisch’s flights of fancy are rare enough to keep the listener wanting to hear more at the end of the album. More please.

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