Inside Voice / Outside Voice

The title of this heart-stopping collaboration by Gloversville bassist Michael Bisio (Matthew Shipp Trio) and Beacon vocalist and acoustic guitarist Timothy Hill is rich in layered meaning. Recorded in one continuous take—with no edits or pauses—this sublime set takes its sweet, soft time meandering through jazz standards (Coleman's "Law Years," Coltrane's "Wise One"), Great American Songbook ballads (Cahn and Styne's "I Fall in Love Too Easily," Coots and Lewis's "For All We Know") and spontaneous originals, with everything moving freely and naturally between structure and improvisation—inside and outside. "[H]is expressive touch is distinctive," observes the New York Times of Bisio's deft technique, which is on glorious display in the solo "Bridge," while Hill's vocalizing draws on Chet Baker and the Tuvan and Hindustani styles he's studied. Carve out a quiet moment and, like the duo suggests, listen to this album in one sitting. You'll be deeply rewarded.