Sam Dickinson is a guitarist from Toronto who is very active on the city’s scene, as well as across the country. He’s rarely seen or heard in Montreal, though, which is a shame. Don’t let the title fool you, this album is a solo adventure \u201cwith a few multi-track additions.\u201d Dickinson plays with different atmospheres and a wealth of good ideas, such as this tribute to Egberto Gismonti, primed by harmonic colours taken from Schoenberg (Uncle Gismonti)! Or a nod to Dmitri Shostakovich in the form of a contemplative ballad, subtly colored with Brazilian touches. Gemini Duets doesn’t just feature scholarly references, but also echoes of jazz schools such as \u201cCool,\u201d with My Shepherd-Collie Baby, based on the chords of “My Melancholy Baby,” a standard often revisited by the great musicians of the genre (Tristano, Konitz). Dickinson adds a fretless track, giving a more incisive character to the main line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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