Baars Henneman photo byFrancesca Patella

Reeds man Ab Baars and violist Ig Henneman, both long-established members of the theatrically avant-garde New Dutch Swing pantheon, bring an unmistakable playfulness to their collaborations as a musical duo. The husband-and-wife team deliver lyrical, expressive pieces that animate memories of tiptoeing down a hallway, dancing outside or hiding beneath the bed. They communicate in whispers or cries, raising their eyebrows as they gesture in musical sign language. For all of its sharp dissonances and off-kilter rhythms, their sound is like a simple game of tag.

Both Netherlands natives, Baars began saxophone in a local marching band at fifteen, Henneman started with the piano at age five before taking up violin at eleven and later viola. In their decades-long careers, their art has found a home in performances with a who’s who of European improvisers, American legends ranging from Sonic Youth to Cecil Taylor, dancers, poets and filmmakers.

Baars and Henneman’s duo remains among the handful of groups that they invest most of their time in. Meanwhile, Baars holds in Misha Mengelberg’s revered Instant Composers Pool Orchestra, Henneman plays in The Queen Mab Trio, and each leads a small group under their own name. Their music kicks and skips in a way that rattles jazz conventions; those that prefer their narratives with looser boundaries find Baars and Henneman to be a couple of real sweethearts.

– Nathan Bluford