I first enjoyed the Golia-Filiano duo in 1991, when they gave an impromptu concert at the Cadence Building. Since that time Ken has settled in New York City where he is an active participant on the creative music scene in clubs and recording studios. Vinny has remained based in California where he coordinates the 9 Winds Records label, leads his own groups and his remarkable Large Ensemble, and works as a member of other combos, including the New York-based Gregg Bendian Project which was recorded by CIMP two months prior to this session (Counterparts CIMP #105). However, between frequent bi-coastal trips (Ken is a participant in Vinny's Large Ensemble) the two have maintained an active personal and musical relationship. Even so, to date there have been no releases documenting their collaboration as a duo.
When Vinny was invited to be guest resident at Buffalo University in March of 1996 he included Ken in the program and proposed to me that, since CIMP lies somewhere between and north of New York City and Buffalo, they drop by and record the duo at the Spirit Room.
There were few extremes during the recording. The duo maintains a remarkably consistent (high) level of performance. The artists would set a pace and mood and go out from there. And, aside from looking at each other at the beginning to establish a starting point, they relied entirely on their ears to guide them in their music direction. I would guess that, except for Vinny's need to locate his various instruments and Ken's need to prepare his bass on "Dynamic For Wilimena Fergerson" employs a varying number of clothes pins placed strategically on the strings, a technique learned from Mark Dresser), this entire session could have been played in complete darkness. The music here rarely suggests anything except a close, intuitive strategy, as it rises and falls on developing imaginative forays, into uncharted areas.
Between improvisations there was relaxed banter with little reference to what had transpired or to what would come next. It seemed an unconscious attempt to clear the mind of past references and prepare for new adventures into other landscapes of imagination.
In programming this material I spent a number of hours trying to choose the best of what amounted to much more than one CD could encompass. Each time I got near settling on a given set of performances, a revisit to a rejected take would display new virtues or exhibit itself fresh in a new context. The material I finally settled on, I think, shows the depth and variety that this duo is capable of and, as important, the lyrical quality which has always been a strong quality in Vinny's playing.
The Vinny Golia-Ken Filiano duo plays strong, uncomposed music that can take the listener to places they've never been before, places worth visiting, and they do so with resolve, never leaving the listener abandoned or lost. These are fruitful negotiations.
Robert D. Rusch
