This is an invitation-an unpretentious invitation among friends. It's an invitation for one of those special moments of swapping stories and old memories, for talking of the past and talking of the future. A natural setting for two jazz/pop descendants to get out their guitars and spice up the soundtrack of such a get-together. And that's nice, maybe even exceptional, when two such "grown-up kids" happen to be among the most respected musicians of their generation. Even they find it extraordinary. Sylvain Luc and Biréli Lagrène have already shared their glowing stage encounters with the fortunate few who happened to be there. Now, they invite all of us to partake of the encounter captured in an album, Duet.

Their resumes are longer than the thank-you list on the night of the "Victoires de la musique" awards, but their desire to communicate is more direct. "We don't have anything to prove," they explain, and they are right. From Jaco Pastorius to Stéphane Grappelli, from Gil Evans to Larry Coryell, from Didier Lockwood to Vicente Amigo, Biréli Lagrène has recorded and toured with many of the world's great stars. Sylvain Luc is also well known in top-class circles, having worked with Catherine Lara, Al Jarreau, Michel Legrand, Steve Lukather, Michel Jonasz, Lokua Kanza, not to mention André Cecarelli.

(Dreyfus Jazz) / January 2000

Their solo albums are frenetic jams that draw accolades from both admiring musicians and a receptive audience. (Those who have heard Biréli play country with Charlie McCoy or seen Sylvain transform "Au clair de la lune" remain incredulous.)

These stunning, sparkling, peerless improvisers just had to meet up. It started with a phone call and a long discussion after an article in which one had spoken of the other. Invitations to sit in at concerts followed and onstage the duo explored their affinities, common culture, and different jazz styles, and the similarities and contrasts of their gypsy and Basque roots. Their cohesion playing together was built up slowly from crazy outbursts of laughter and astonishment, encounters in clubs, a bit of Django and a dash of the classics. And so came their desire to make a record-differently. "We didn't want to make a guitarist's record. We wanted to make something for all music lovers," say these devotees of the public good. "We weren't content to just play standards, we wanted to find the right common repertoire in relation to our lives and our backgrounds." They found their repertoire in their eclecticism and in our collective memory. Cindy Lauper (Time after time), Django Reinhardt (Douce ambiance), Stevie Wonder (Isn't she lovely), Benny Goodman (Stompin' at the Savoy), Henri Salvador (Syracuse), Brassens (Les amoureux des bancs publics), the Beatles (Blackbird), Michel Petrucciani (Looking up), or the indelible Irish Ballade sung by Bourvil.

The two meld perfectly to explore the many facets of the duet. There are the swaggering face-offs you would expect from old-time virtuosos-"What do you say to THIS?". There is side by side-"I've got you covered, you've got me covered". There are mutual inspiration and prodding to take it higher, momentary alliances, and lightning-strike duels. This aptly named album, Duet, was improvised over three days in the studio. "It's an extremely rare pleasure, only possible when both partners are really listening and have rock-solid confidence," they say. It's easy to understand-the freedom and space of the duo format give Biréli Lagrène and Sylvain Luc the ideal territory for their transcendence of the guitar. Harmonic subtleties, rhythmic refinements, unreal extended voicings, percussive exchanges, bass lines, chord solos, trading riffs-it's all here. It bowls you over, and it grabs you. Whether scrapping or seducing, building tension or relaxing it, these two infuse delight into standards and originals alike. This particular brand of delight, unique to musicians, is called musicality. Here's the invitation!

Olivier Garcia - Guitarist Magazine