The Only Juan

by David R. Adler Drummer/percussionist Jerry Granelli and organist/pianist Jamie Saft team up on this quirky and fairly chaotic set of duets. (Chris Kelly, the session's engineer, plays bass on "Difficult Dread," a simple reggae tune and one of the more accessible tracks.) The two principals cover a lot of ground, from blistering groove ("Baby San") and noise (the aptly titled "Clear the Room") to extreme minimalism ("Gong") to faux cocktail music ("Club Date") and '70s folk (Joni Mitchell's "Rainy Night House," darkened considerably). There's also an oblique nod to jazz with Thelonious Monk's "I Mean You" and a completely off-the-wall rendition of Journey's "Don't Stop (Believing)." Saft howls the lyrics off-key (and thankfully off-mic), as the song builds to an absurdly loud, distorted crescendo before fading away. Even when they cross the line into kitsch, Granelli and Saft bring a unique perspective to live interaction and sound production. The liner info is a bit sloppy. Journey's Neal Schon is given composer credit on the wrong track, and Thelonious Monk isn't credited at all.